UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


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S/EVIS  TRANQU 


SIKB 


THE    RISE 


OF  THE 


DUTCH   REPUBLIC 


BY 


JOHN   LOTHROP  MOTLEY,  D.C.L.,  LL.D. 

CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  OF  THE  INSTITUTE  OF  FRANCE,  ETC, 

IN  THREE  VOLUMES 

Vol,  I. 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER   &   BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-five,  by 

John  Lothrop  Motley, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Copyright,  1883,  by  Elizabeth  Cabot  Vernon  Harcottrt,  Mary  Lothrop 
Sheridan,  Susan  Margaret  Stackpole  Motley. 


H 


PREFACE. 


The  rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic  must  ever  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  leading  events  of  modern  times.  Without  the 
birth  of  this  great  commonwealth,  the  various  historical 
phenomena  of  the  sixteenth  and  following  centuries  must 
have  either  not  existed,  or  have  presented  themselves  under 
essential  modifications.  Itself  an  organized  protest  against 
ecclesiastical  tyranny  and  universal  empire,  the  Republic 
guarded  with  sagacity,  at  many  critical  periods  in  the 
world's  history,  that  balance  of  power  which,  among  civilized 
states,  ought  always  to  be  identical  with  the  scales  of 
divine  justice.  The  splendid  empire  of  Charles  the  Fifth  was 
erected  upon  the  grave  of  liberty.  It  is  a  consolation  to  those 
who  have  hope  in  humanity  to  watch,  under  the  reign  of  his 
successor,  the  gradual  but  triumphant  resurrection  of  the  spirit 
over  which  the  sepulchre  had  so  long  been  sealed.  From  the 
handbreadth  of  territory  called  the  province  of  Holland  rises  a 


IV  PREFACE. 

power  which  wages  eighty  years*  warfare  with  the  most 
potent  empire  upon  earth,  and  which,  during  the  progress 
of  the  struggle,  becoming  itself  a  mighty  state,  and  bind- 
ing about  its  own  slender  form  a  zone  of  the  richest 
possessions  of  earth,  from  pole  to  tropic,  finally  dictates  its 
decrees  to  the  empire  of  Charles. 

So  much  is  each  individual  state  but  a  member  of  one 
great  international  commonwealth,  and  so  close  is  the  re- 
lationship between  the  whole  human  family,  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  a  nation,  even  while  struggling  for  itself,  not 
to  acquire  something  for  all  mankind.  The  maintenance 
of  the  right  by  the  little  provinces  of  Holland  and  Zea- 
land in  the  sixteenth,  by  Holland  and  England  united  in 
the  seventeenth,  and  by  the  United  States  of  America  in 
the  eighteenth  centuries,  forms  but  a  single  chapter  in 
the  great  volume  of  human  fate  ;  for  the  so-called  revolu- 
tions of  Holland,  England,  and  America,  are  all  links  of 
one   chain. 

To  the  Dutch  Republic,  even  more  than  to  Florence  at 
an  earlier  day,  is  the  world  indebted  for  practical  instruc- 
tion in  that  great  science  of  political  equilibrium  which 
which  must  always  become  more  and  more  important  as  the 
various  states  of  the  civilized  world  are  pressed  more  closely 
together,  and  as  the  struggle  for  pre-eminence  becomes 
more  feverish  and  fatal.  Courage  and  skill  in  political 
and  military  combinations  enabled  William  the  Silent  to 
overcome  the  most  powerful  and  unscrupulous  monarch 
of  his  age.  The  same  hereditary  audacity  and  fertility 
of  genius  placed  the  destiny  of  Europe  in  the  hands  of 
William's  great-grandson,  and  enabled  him  to  mould  into 
an   impregnable  barrier  the  various   elements  of  opposition 


PREFACE.  V 

to  the  overshadowing  monarchy  of  Louis  XIV.  As  the 
schemes  of  the  Inquisition  and  the  unparalleled  tyranny 
of  Philip,  in  one  century,  led  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Kepublic  of  the  United  Provinces,  so,  in  the  next,  the 
revocation  of  the  Nantes  Edict  and  the  invasion  of  Hol- 
land are  avenged  by  the  elevation  of  the  Dutch  stadholder 
upon   the   throne   of  the   stipendiary  Stuarts. 

To  all  who  speak  the  English  language,  the  history  of 
the  great  agony  through  which  the  Republic  of  Holland  was 
ushered  into  life  must  have  peculiar  interest,  for  it  is  a 
portion  of  the  records  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race — essentially 
the  same,  whether  in  Friesland,  England,  or  Massachusetts. 

A  great  naval  and  commercial  commonwealth,  occupy- 
ing a  small  portion  of  Europe  but  conquering  a  wide 
empire  by  the  private  enterprise  of  trading  companies, 
girdling  the  world  with  its  innumerable  dependencies  in 
Asia,  America,  Africa,  Australia — exercising  sovereignty  in 
Brazil,  Guiana,  the  West  Indies,  New  York,  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  in  Hindostan,  Ceylon,  Java,  Sumatra,  New 
Holland — haviDg  first  laid  together,  as  it  were,  many  of  the 
Cyclopean  blocks,  out  of  which  the  British  realm,  at  a  later 
period,  has  been  constructed — must  always  be  looked  upon 
with  interest  by  Englishmen,  as  in  a  great  measure  the  pre- 
cursor in  their  own  scheme  of  empire. 

For  America  the  spectacle  is  one  of  still  deeper  im- 
port. The  Dutch  Republic  originated  in  the  opposition 
of  the  rational  elements  of  human  nature  to  sacerdotal 
dogmatism  and  persecution — in  the  courageous  resistance 
of  historical  and  chartered  liberty  to  foreign  despot- 
ism. Neither  that  liberty  nor  ours  was  bora  of  the 
cloud-embraces    of  a   false    Divinity   with   a    Humanity   of 


VI  PREFACE. 

impossible  beauty,  nor  was  the  infant  career  of  either  ar- 
rested in  blood  and  tears  by  the  madness  of  its  worship- 
pers. "  To  maintain/'  not  to  overthrow,  was  the  device  of 
the  Washington  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  it  was  the 
lim   of  our   own   hero   and   his   great   contemporaries. 

The  great  Western  Republic,  therefore — in  whose  Anglo- 
Saxon  veins  flows  much  of  that  ancient  and  kindred  blood 
received  from  the  nation  once  ruling  a  noble  portion  of  its 
territory,  and  tracking  its  own  political  existence  to  the 
same  parent  spring  of  temperate  human  liberty — must  look 
with  affectionate  interest  upon  the  trials  of  the  elder  com- 
monwealth. These  volumes  recite  the  achievement  of  Dutch 
independence,  for  its  recognition  was  delayed  till  the  ac- 
knowledgment was  superfluous  and  ridiculous.  The  exist- 
ence of  the  Republic  is  properly  to  be  dated  from  the 
Union  of  Utrecht  in  1581,  while  the  final  separation  of 
territory  into  independent  and  obedient  provinces,  into  the 
Commonwealth  of  the  United  States  and  the  Belgian  pro- 
vinces of  Spain,  was  in  reality  effected  by  William  the 
Silent,  with  whose  death  three  years  subsequently,  the  heroic 
period  of  the  history  may  be  said  to  terminate.  At  this 
point  these  volumes  close.  Another  series,  with  less  atten- 
tion to  minute  details,  and  carrying  the  story  through  a 
longer  range  of  years,  will  paint  the  progress  of  the  Re- 
public in  its  palmy  days,  and  narrate  the  establishment  01 
its  external  system  of  dependencies  and  its  interior  com- 
binations for  self-government  and  European  counterpoise. 
The  lessons  of  history  and  the  fate  of  free  states  can 
never  be  sufficiently  pondered  by  those  upon  whom  so  large 
and  heavy  a  responsibility  for  the  maintenance  of  rational 
human  freedom   rests. 


PREFACE.  Vll 

I  have  only  to  add  that  this  work  is  the  result  of  con- 
scientious research,  and  of  an  earnest  desire  to  arrive  at 
the  truth.  I  have  faithfully  studied  all  the  important  con- 
temporary chroniclers  and  later  historians — Dutch,  Flemish, 
French,  Italian,  Spanish,  or  German.  Catholic  and  Protes- 
tant, Monarchist  and  Republican,  have  been  consulted  with 
the  same  sincerity.  The  works  of  Bor  (whose  enormous  but 
indispensable  folios  form  a  complete  magazine  of  contempo- 
rary state-papers,  letters,  and  pamphlets,  blended  together 
in  mass,  and  connected  by  a  chain  of  artless  but  earnest 
narrative),  of  Meteren,  De  Thou,  Burgundius,  Heuterus, 
Tassis,  Viglius,  Hoofd,  Haraeus,  Van  der  Haer^  Grotius — ol 
Van  der  Vynckt,  Wagenaer,  Van  Wyn,  De  Jonghe,  Kluit, 
Van  Kampen,  Dewez,  Kappelle,  Bakhuyzen,  Groen  van 
Prinsterer — of  Ranke  and  Raumer,  have  been  as  familiar  to 
me  as  those  of  Mendoza,  Carnero,  Cabrera,  Herrera,  Ulloa, 
Bentivoglio,  Peres,  Strada.  The  manuscript  relations  of 
those  Argus-eyed  Venetian  envoys  who  surprised  so  many 
courts  and  cabinets  in  their  most  unguarded  moments,  and 
daguerreotyped  their  character  and  policy  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  crafty  Republic,  and  whose  reports  remain  such 
an  inestimable  source  for  the  secret  history  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  have  been  carefully  examined — especially 
the  narratives  of  the  caustic  and  accomplished  Badovaro, 
of  Suriano,  and  Michele.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  all 
the  publications  of  M.  Gachard — particularly  the  invaluable 
correspondence  of  Philip  II.  and  of  William  the  Silent,  as 
well  as  the  "  Archives  et  Correspondance"  of  the  Orange 
Nassau  family,  edited  by  the  learned  and  distinguished  Groen 
van  Prinsterer,  have  been  my  constant  guides  through  the 
tortuous  labyrinth  of  Spanish  and  Netherland  politics.    The 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

large  and  most  interesting  series  of  pamphlets  known  as 
"  The  Duncan  Collection,"  in  the  Royal  Library  at  the 
Hague,  has  also  afforded  a  great  variety  of  details  by  which 
I  have  endeavoured  to  give  color  and  interest  to  the  nar- 
rative. Besides  the.se,  and  many  other  printed  works,  [ 
have  also  had  the  advantage  of  perusing  many  manuscript 
histories,  among  which  may  be  particularly  mentioned  the 
works  of  Pontus  Payen,  of  Renom  de  France,  and  of 
Pasquier  de  la  Barre  ;  while  the  vast  collection  of  unpub- 
lished documents  in  the  Royal  Archives  of  the  Hague,  of 
Brussels,  and  of  Dresden,  has  furnished  me  with  much 
new  matter  of  great  importance.  I  venture  to  hope  that 
many  years  of  labour,  a  portion  of  them  in  the  archives 
of  those  countries  whose  history  forms  the  object  of  my 
study,  will  not  have  been  entirely  in  vain  ;  and  that  the 
lovers  of  human  progress,  the  believers  in  the  capacity  of 
nations  for  self-government  and  self-improvement,  and  the 
admirers  of  disinterested  human  genius  and  virtue,  may 
find  encouragement  for  their  views  in  the  detailed  history 
of  an  heroic  people  in  its  most  eventful  period,  and  in 
the  life  and  death  of  the  great  man  whose  name  and 
fame   are   identical  with   those   of  his    country. 

No  apology  is  offered  for  this  somewhat  personal  state- 
ment. When  an  unknown  writer  asks  the  attention  of 
the  public  upon  an  important  theme,  he  is  not  only  au« 
thorized,  but  required,  to  show  that  by  industry  and  ear- 
nestness he  has  entitled  himself  to  a  hearing.  The  author 
too  keenly  feels  that  he  has  no  further  claims  than  these, 
and  he  therefore  most  diffidently  asks  for  his  work  the  in- 
dulgence  of  his   readers. 


PREFACE.  IX 

I  would  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  grati- 
tude to  Dr.  Klemin,  Hofrath  and  Chief  Librarian  at  Dres- 
den, and  to  Mr.  Von  "Weber,  Ministerial-rath  and  Head 
of  the  Royal  Archives  of  Saxony,  for  the  courtesy  and 
kindness  extended  to  me  so  uniformly  during  the  course 
of  my  researches  in  that  city.  I  would  also  speak  a  word 
of  sincere  thanks  to  Mr.  Campbell,  Assistant  Librarian  at 
the  Hague,  for  his  numerous  acts  of  friendship  during 
the  absence  of  Ins  chief,  M.  Holtrop.  To  that  most  dis- 
tinguished critic  and  historian,  M.  Bakhuyzen  van  den 
Brinck,  Chief  Archivist  of  the  Netherlands,  I  am  under 
deep  obligations  for  advice,  instruction,  and  constant  kind- 
ness, during  my  residence  at  the  Hague ;  and  I  would 
also  signify  my  sense  of  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Charter-Mas- 
ter de  Schwane,  and  of  the  accuracy  with  which  copies 
of  MSS.  in  the  archives  were  prepared  for  me  by  his  care. 
Finally,  I  would  allude  in  the  strongest  language  of  grati- 
tude and  respect  to  M.  Gachard,  Archivist-General  of  Bel- 
gium, for  his  unwearied  courtesy  and  manifold  acts  of 
kindness  to  me  during  my  studies  in  the  Royal  Archives 
of  Brussels. 


THE 


RISE  OF  THE  DUTCH  REPUBLIC, 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

I. 

The  north-western  corner  of  the  vast  plain  which  extends 
from  the  German  ocean  to  the  Ural  mountains,  is  occupied  by 
the  countries  called  the  Netherlands.  This  small  triangle, 
enclosed  between  France,  Germany,  and  the  sea,  is  divided  by 
the  modern  kingdoms  of  Belgium  and  Holland  into  two  nearly 
equal  portions.  Our  earliest  information  concerning  this  ter- 
ritory is  derived  from  the  Romans.  The  wars  waged  by  that 
nation  with  the  northern  barbarians  have  rescued  the  damp 
island  of  Batavia,  with  its  neighboring  morasses,  from  the 
obscurity  in  which  they  might  have  remained  for  ages,  before 
any  thing  concerning  land  or  people  would  have  been  made 
known  by  the  native  inhabitants.  Julius  Ca?sar  has  saved 
from  oblivion  the  heroic  savages  who  fought  against  his  legions 
in  defence  of  their  dismal  homes  with  ferocious  but  unfortunate 
patriotism  ;  and  the  great  poet  of  England,  learning  from  the 
conqueror's  Commentaries  the  name  of  the  boldest  tribe,  has 
kept  the  Nervii,  after  almost  twenty  centuries,  still  fresh  and 
familiar  in  our  ears. 

Tacitus,  too,  has  described  with  singular  minuteness  the 
struggle  between  the  people  of  these  regions  and  the  power  of 
Rome,  overwhelming,  although  tottering  to  its  fall ;  and  has 

VOL.  I  B 


2  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

moreover,  devoted  several  chapters  of  liis  work  upon  Germany 
to  a  description  of  the  most  remarkable  Teutonic  tribes  of  the 
Netherlands. 

Geographically  and  ethnographically,  the  Low  Countries  be- 
long both  to  Gaul  and  to  Germany.  It  is  even  doubtful  to 
which  of  the  two  the  Batavian  island,  which  is  the  core  of  the 
whole  country,  was  reckoned  by  the  Eomans.  It  is,  however, 
most  probable  that  all  the  land,  with  the  exception  of  Fries- 
land,  was  considered  a  part  of  Gaul. 

Three  great  rivers — the  Ehine,  the  Meuse,  and  the  Schelcl — 
had  deposited  their  slime  for  ages  among  the  dunes  and  sand- 
banks heaved  up  by  the  ocean  around  their  mouths.  A  delta 
was  thus  formed,  habitable  at  last  for  man.  It  was  by  nature 
a  wide  morass,  in  which  oozy  islands  and  savage  forests  were 
interspersed  among  lagoons  and  shallows  ;  a  district  lying 
partly  below  the  level  of  the  ocean  at  its  higher  tides,  subject 
to  constant  overflow  from  the  rivers,  and  to  frequent  and  terri- 
ble inundations  by  the  sea. 

The  Ehine,  leaving  at  last  the  regions  where  its  storied  lapse, 
through  so  many  ages,  has  been  consecrated  alike  by  nature 
and  art — by  poetry  and  eventful  truth— flows  reluctantly 
through  the  basalt  portal  of  the  Seven  Mountains  into  the  open 
fields  which  extend  to  the  German  sea.  After  entering  this 
vast  meadow,  the  stream  divides  itself  into  two  branches,  be- 
coming thus  the  two-horned  Ehine  of  Virgil,  and  holds  in  these 
two  arms  the  island  of  Batavia. 

The  Meuse,  taking  its  rise  in  the  Vosges,  pours  itself  through 
the  Ardennes  wood,  pierces  the  rocky  ridges  upon  the  south- 
eastern frontier  of  the  Low  Countries,  receives  the  Sambre  in 
the  midst  of  that  picturesque  anthracite  basin  where  now  stands 
the  city  of  Namur,  and  then  moves  toward  the  north,  through 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  country,  till  it  mingles  its  waters 
with  the  Ehine. 

The  Scheld,  almost  exclusively  a  Belgian  river,  after  leaving 
its  fountains  in  Picardy,  flows  through  the  present  provinces  of 
Flanders  and  Hainault.  In  Cassar's  time  it  was  suffocated 
before  reaching  the  sea  in  quicksands  and  thickets,  which  long 


THE   TERRITORY.  O 

afforded  protection  to  the  savage  inhabitants  against  the  Ro- 
nian  arms,  and  which  the  slow  process  of  nature  and  the  un- 
tiring industry  of  man  have  since  converted  into  the  archi- 
pelago of  Zealand  and  South  Holland.  These  islands  were 
unknown  to  the  Romans. 

Such  were  the  rivers  which,  with  their  numerous  tributaries, 
coursed  through  the  spongy  land.  Their  frequent  overflow, 
when  forced  back  upon  then  currents  by  the  stormy  sea,  ren- 
dered the  country  almost  uninhabitable.  Here,  within  a 
half-submerged  territory,  a  race  of  wretched  ichthyophagi 
dwelt  upon  terpen,  or  mounds,  which  they  had  raised,  like 
beavers,  above  the  almost  fluid  soil.  Here,  at  a  later  day,  the 
same  race  chained  the  tyrant  Ocean  and  his  mighty  streams 
into  subserviency,  forcing  them  to  fertilize,  to  render  commo- 
dious, to  cover  with  a  beneficent  network  of  veins  and  arteries, 
and  to  bind  by  watery  highways  with  the  furthest  ends  of  the 
world,  a  country  disinherited  by  nature  of  its  rights.  A  re- 
gion, outcast  of  ocean  and  earth,  wrested  at  last  from  both 
domains  their  richest  treasures.  A  race,  engaged  for  genera- 
tions in  stubborn  conflict  with  the  angry  elements,  was  uncon- 
sciously educating  itself  for  its  great  struggle  with  the  still 
more  savage  despotism  of  man. 

The  whole  territory  of  the  Netherlands  was  girt  with  forests. 
An  extensive  belt  of  woodland  skirted  the  sea-coast,  reaching 
beyond  the  mouths  of  the  Rhine.  Along  the  outer  edge  of 
this  barrier,  the  dunes  cast  up  by  the  sea  were  prevented  by 
the  close  tangle  of  thickets  from  drifting  further  inward,  and 
thus  formed  a  breastwork  which  time  and  art  were  to  strengthen. 
The  groves  of  Haarlem  and  the  Hague  are  relics  of  this 
ancient  forest.  The  Badahuenna  wood,  horrid  with  Druidic 
sacrifices,  extended  along  the  eastern  line  of  the  vanished  lake 
of  Flevo.  The  vast  Hercynian  forest,  nine  days'  journey  in 
breadth,  closed  in  the  country  on  the  German  side,  stretching 
from  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  to  the  remote  regions  of  the 
Dacians,  in  such  vague  immensity  (says  the  conqueror  of  the 
whole  country)  that  no  German,  after  traveling  sixty  days,  had 
ever  reached,  or  even  heard  of,  its  commencement.  On  the  south. 


4  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

the  famous  groves  of  Ardennes,  haunted  by  faun  and  satyr, 
embowered  the  country,  and  separated  it  from  Celtic  Gaul. 

Thus  inundated  by  mighty  rivers,  quaking  beneath  the  level 
of  the  ocean,  belted  about  by  hirsute  forests,  this  low  land, 
nether  land,  hollow  land,  or  Holland,  seemed  hardly  deserving 
the  arms  of  the  all-accomplished  Koman.  Yet  foreign  tyranny, 
from  the  earliest  ages,  has  coveted  this  meagre  territory  as 
lustfully  as  it  has  sought  to  wrest  from  their  native  possessors 
those  lands  with  the  fatal  gift  of  beauty  for  their  dower  ;  while 
the  genius  of  liberty  has  inspired  as  noble  a  resistance  to  op- 
pression here  as  it  ever  aroused  in  Grecian  or  Italian  breasts. 

II. 

It  can  never  be  satisfactorily  ascertained  who  were  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants.  The  record  does  not  reach  beyond 
Caesar's  epoch,  and  he  found  the  territory  on  the  left  of  tho 
Rhine  mainly  tenanted  by  tribes  of  the  Celtic  family.  That 
large  division  of  the  Indo-European  group  which  had  already 
overspread  many  portions  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Germany, 
the  British  Islands,  France,  and  Spain,  had  been  long  settled 
in  Belgic  Gaul,  and  constituted  the  bulk  of  its  population. 
Checked  in  its  westward  movement  by  the  Atlantic,  its  current 
began  to  flow  backwards  towards  its  fountains,  so  that  the 
Gallic  portion  of  the  Netherland  population  was  derived  from 
the  original  race  in  its  earlier  wanderings  and  from  the  later 
and  refluent  tide  coming  out  of  Celtic  Gaul.  The  modern 
appellation  of  the  Walloons  points  to  the  affinity  of  their 
ancestors  with  the  Gallic,  Welsh,  and  Gaelic  family.  The 
Belgffi  were  in  many  respects  a  superior  race  to  most  of  their 
blood-allies.  They  were,  according  to  Caesar's  testimony,  the 
bravest  of  all  the  Celts.  This  may  be  in  part  attributed  to 
the  presence  of  several  German  tribes,  who,  at  this  period  had 
already  forced  their  way  across  the  Rhine,  mingled  their  quali- 
ties with  the  Belgic  material,  and  lent  an  additional  mettle  to 
the  Celtic  blood.  The  heart  of  the  country  was  thus  inhabited 
by  a  Gallic  race,  but  the  frontiers  had  been  taken  possession 
of  by  Teutonic  tribes. 


'I'HE    EAELY    INHABITANTS.  O 

When  the  Cimbri  and  their  associates,  about  a  century 
before  our  era,  made  their  memorable  onslaught  upon  Rome, 
the  eaily  inhabitants  of  the  Rhine  island  of  Batavia,  who  were 
probably  Celts,  joined  in  the  expedition.  A  recent  and  tre- 
mendous inundation  had  swept  away  their  miserable  homes, 
and  even  the  trees  of  the  forests,  and  had  thus  rendered  them 
still  more  dissatisfied  with  their  gloomy  abodes.  The  island 
was  deserted  of  its  population.  At  about  the  same  period  a 
civil  dissension  among  the  Chatti — a  powerful  German  race 
within  the  Hercynian  forest — resulted  in  the  expatriation  of  a 
portion  of  the  people.  The  exiles  sought  a  new  home  in  the 
empty  Rhine  island,  called  it  "  Bet-auio"  or  "  good-meadow/' 
and  were  themselves  called,  thenceforward,  Batavi,  or  Bata- 
vians. 

These  Batavians,  according  to  Tacitus,  were  the  bravest  of 
all  the  Germans.  The  Chatti,  of  whom  they  formed  a  por- 
tion, were  a  pre-eminently  warlike  race.  "  Others  go  to  battle/' 
says  the  historian,  "  these  go  to  war."  Their  bodies  were  more 
hardy,  then  minds  more  vigorous,  than  those  of  other  tribes. 
Their  young  men  cut  neither  hair  nor  beard  till  they  had  slain 
an  enemy.  On  the  field  of  battle,  in  the  midst  of  carnage 
and  plunder,  they,  for  the  first  time,  bared  their  faces.  The 
cowardly  and  sluggish,  only,  remained  unshorn.  They  wore 
an  iron  ring,  too,  or  shackle  upon  their  necks  until  they  had 
performed  the  same  achievement,  a  symbol  which  they  then 
threw  away,  as  the  emblem  of  sloth.  The  Batavians  were 
ever  spoken  of  by  the  Romans  with  entire  respect.  They 
conquered  the  Belgians,  they  forced  the  free  Frisians  to  pav 
tribute,  but  they  called  the  Batavians  their  friends.  The  tax- 
gatherer  never  invaded  then  island.  Honorable  alliance 
united  them  with  the  Romans.  It  was,  however,  the  alliance 
of  the  giant  and  the  dwarf.  The  Roman  gained  glory  and 
empire,  the  Batavian  gained  nothing  but  the  hardest  blows. 
The  Batavian  cavalry  became  famous  throughout  the  Republic 
and  the  Empire.  They  were  the  favorite  troops  of  Cassar,  and 
with  reason,  for  it  was  their  valor  which  turned  the  tide  of 
battle  at  Pharsalia.     From  the  death  of  Julius  down  to  the 


6  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    KEPUBLIC. 

times  of  Vespasian,  the  Batavian  legion  was  the  imperial  body 
guard,  the  Batavian  island  the  basis  of  operations  in  the 
Koman  wars  with  Gaul,  Germany,  and  Britain. 

Beyond  the  Batavians,  upon  the  north,  dwelt  the  great 
Frisian  family,  occupying  the  regions  between  the  Rhine  and 
Ems.  The  Zuyder  Zee  and  the  Dollart,  both  caused  by  the 
terrific  inundations  of  the  thirteenth  century  and  not  existing 
at  this  period,  did  not  then  interpose  boundaries  between 
kindred  tribes.  All  formed  a  homogeneous  nation  of  pure 
German  origin. 

Thus,  the  population  of  the  country  was  partly  Celtic,  partly 
German.  Of  these  two  elements,  dissimilar  in  their  ten- 
dencies and  always  difficult  to  blend,  the  Netherland  people 
has  ever  been  compounded.  A  certain  fatality  of  history  has 
perpetually  helped  to  separate  still  more  widely  these  con- 
stituents, instead  of  detecting  and  stimulating  the  elective 
affinities  which  existed.  Eeligion,  too,  upon  all  great  historical 
occasions,  has  acted  as  the  most  powerful  of  dissolvents.  Other- 
wise, had  so  many  valuable  and  contrasted  characteristics  been 
early  fused  into  a  ivhole,  it  would  be  difficult  to  show  a  race 
more  richly  endowed  by  Nature  for  dominion  and  progress 
than  the  Belgo-Germanic  people. 

Physically  the  two  races  resembled  each  other.  Both  were 
of  vast  stature.  The  gigantic  Gaul  derided  the  Roman  sol- 
diers as  a  band  of  pigmies.  The  German  excited  astonish- 
ment by  his  huge  body  and  muscular  limbs.  Both  were  fair, 
with  fierce  blue  eyes,  but  the  Celt  had  yellow  hair  floating  over 
his  shoulders,  and  the  German  long  locks  of  fiery  red,  which  he 
even  dyed  with  woad  to  heighten  the  favorite  color,  and  wore 
twisted  into  a  war-knot  upon  the  top  of  his  head.  Here  the 
German's  love  of  finery  ceased.  A  simple  tunic  fastened  at 
his  throat  with  a  thorn,  while  his  other  garments  defined  and 
gave  full  play  to  his  limbs,  completed  his  costume.  The  Gaul, 
on  the  contrary,  was  so  fond  of  dress  that  the  Romans  divided 
his  race  respectively  into  long-haired,  breeched,  and  gowned 
Gaul ;  (Gallia  comata,  braccata,  togata).  He  was  fond  of 
brilliant  and  parti-colored  clothes,  a  taste  which  survives  in 


TWO   RACES    CONTRASTED.  7 

the  Highlander's  costume.  He  covered  his  neck  and  arms 
with  golden  chains.  The  simple  and  ferocious  German  wore 
no  decoration  save  his  iron  ring,  from  which  his  first  homicide 
relieved  him.  The  Gaul  was  irascible,  furious  in  his  wrath, 
hut  less  formidable  in  a  sustained  conflict  with  a  powerful  foe. 
"  All  the  Gauls  are  of  very  high  stature,"  says  a  soldier  who 
fought  under  Julian.  (Amm.  Marcel,  xv.  12.  1).  "  They  are 
white,  golden-haired,  terrible  in  the  fierceness  of  their  eyes, 
greedy  of  quarrels,  bragging  and  insolent.  A  band  of  strangers 
co^ild  not  resist  one  of  them  in  a  brawl,  assisted  by  his  strong 
blue-eyed  wife,  especially  when  she  begins,  gnashing  her  teeth, 
her  neck  swollen,  brandishing  her  vast  and  snowy  arms,  and 
kicking  with  her  heels  at  the  same  time,  to  deliver  her  fisti- 
cuffs, like  bolts  from  the  twisted  strings  of  a  catapult.  The 
voices  of  many  are  threatening  and  formidable.  They  are 
quick  to  anger,  but  quickly  appeased.  All  are  clean  in  their 
persons  ;  nor  among  them  is  ever  seen  any  man  or  woman,  as 
elsewhere,  squalid  in  ragged  garments.  At  all  ages  they  are 
apt  for  military  service.  The  old  man  goes  forth  to  the  fight 
with  equal  strength  of  breast,  with  limbs  as  hardened  by  cold 
and  assiduous  labor,  and  as  contemptuous  of  all  dangers,  as  the 
young.  Not  one  of  them,  as  in  Italy  is  often  the  case,  was 
ever  known  to  cut  off  his  thumbs  to  avoid  the  service  of 
Mars." 

The  polity  of  each  race  differed  widely  from  that  of  the 
other.  The  government  of  both  may  be  said  to  have  been 
republican,  but  the  Gallic  tribes  were  aristocracies,  in  which 
the  influence  of  clanship  was  a  predominant  feature  ;  while  the 
German  system,  although  nominally  regal,  was  in  reality 
democratic.  In  Gaul  were  two  orders,  the  nobility  and  the 
priesthood,  while  the  people,  says  Caesar,  were  all  slaves.  The 
knights  or  nobles  were  all  trained  to  arms.  Each  went  forth 
to  battle,  followed  by  his  dependents,  while  a  chief  of  all  the 
clans  was  appointed  to  take  command  during  the  war.  The 
prince  or  chief  governor  was  elected  annually,  but  only  by  the 
nobles.  The  people  had  no  rights  at  all,  and  were  glad  to 
assign  themselves  as  slaves  to  any  noble  who  was  strong  enough 


8  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

to  protect  them.  In  peace  the  Druids  exercised  the  main 
functions  of  government.  They  decided  all  controversies,  civil 
and  criminal.  To  rebel  against  their  decrees  was  punished  by 
exclusion  from  the  sacrifices — a  most  terrible  excommunication, 
through  which  the  criminal  was  cut  off  from  all  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-creatures. 

With  the  Germans,  the  sovereignty  resided  in  the  great 
assembly  of  the  people.  There  were  slaves,  indeed,  but  in 
small  number,  consisting  either  of  prisoners  of  war  or  of  those 
unfortunates  who  had  gambled  away  their  liberty  in  games  of 
chance.  Their  chieftains,  although  called  by  the  Romans 
princes  and  kings,  were,  in  reality,  generals,  chosen  by  uni- 
versal suffrage.  Elected  in  the  great  assembly  to  preside  in 
war,  they  were  raised  on  the  shoulders  of  martial  freemen, 
amid  wild  battle  cries  and  the  clash  of  spear  and  shield.  The 
army  consisted  entirely  of  volunteers,  and  the  soldier  was  for 
life  infamous  who  deserted  the  field  while  his  chief  remained 
alive.  The  same  great  assembly  elected  the  village  magis- 
trates and  decided  upon  all  important  matters  both  of  peace 
and  war.  At  the  full  of  the  moon  it  was  usually  convoked. 
The  nobles  and  the  popular  delegates  arrived  at  irregular  inter- 
vals, for  it  was  an  inconvenience  arising  from  their  liberty, 
that  two  or  three  days  were  often  lost  in  waiting  for  the  delin- 
quents. All  state  affairs  were  in  the  hands  of  this  fierce 
democracy.  The  elected  chieftains  had  rather  authority  to 
persuade  than  power  to  command. 

The  Gauls  were  an  agricultural  people.  They  were  not 
without  many  arts  of  life.  They  had  extensive  flocks  and 
herds,  and  they  even  exported  salted  provisions  as  far  as  Rome, 
The  truculent  German,  Ger-mann,  Heer-mann,  War-man, 
considered  carnage  the  only  useful  occupation,  and  despised 
agriculture  as  enervating  and  ignoble.  It  was  base,  in  his 
opinion,  to  gain  by  sweat  what  was  more  easily  acquired  by 
blood.  The  land  was  divided  annually  by  the  magistrates, 
certain  farms  being  assigned  to  certain  families,  who  were 
forced  to  leave  them  at  the  expiration  of  the  year.  They  cul- 
tivated as  a  common  property  the  lands  allotted  by  the  magis- 


CELTIC    AND    TEUTONIC    POLITICS.  9 

trates.  but  it  was  easier  to  summon  them  to  the  battle-field 
than  to  the  plough.  Thus  they  were  more  fitted  for  the  roam- 
ing and  conquering  life  which  Providence  was  to  assign  to 
them  for  ages,  than  if  they  had  become  more  prone  to  root 
themselves  in  the  soil.  The  Gauls  built  towns  and  villages. 
The  German  built  his  solitary  hut  where  inclination  prompted. 
Close  neighborhood  was  not  to  his  taste. 

In  their  system  of  religion  the  two  races  were  most  widely 
contrasted.  The  Gauls  were  a  priest-ridden  race.  Their  Druids 
were  a  dominant  caste,  presiding  even  over  civil  affairs,  while 
in  religious  matters  their  authority  was  despotic.  What  were 
the  principles  of  their  wild  Theology  will  never  be  thoroughly 
ascertained,  but  we  know  too  much  of  its  sanguinary  rites. 
The  imagination  shudders  to  penetrate  those  shaggy  forests, 
ringing  with  the  death-shrieks  of  ten  thousand  human  vic- 
tims, and  with  the  hideous  hymns  chanted  by  smoke-and- 
blood-stained  priests  to  the  savage  gods  whom  they  served. 

The  German,  in  his  simplicity,  had  raised  himself  to  a  purer 
belief  than  that  of  the  sensuous  Roman  or  the  superstitious 
Gaul.  He  believed  in  a  single,  supreme,  almighty  God,  All- 
Vater  or  All-father.  This  Divinity  was  too  sublime  to  be 
incarnated  or  imaged,  too  infinite  to  be  enclosed  in  temples 
built  with  hands.  Such  is  the  Soman's  testimony  to  the  lofty 
conception  of  the  German.  Certain  forests  were  consecrated 
to  the  unseen  God  whom  the  eye  of  reverent  faith  could  alone 
behold.  Thither,  at  stated  times,  the  people  repaired  to  wor- 
ship. They  entered  the  sacred  grove  with  feet  bound  together, 
in  token  of  submission.  Those  who  fell  were  forbidden  to  rise, 
but  dragged  themselves  backwards  on  the  ground.  Their  rites 
were  few  and  simple.  They  had  no  caste  of  priests,  nor  were 
they,  when  first  known  to  the  Romans,  accustomed  to  offer 
sacrifice.  It  must  be  confessed  that  in  a  later  age,  a  single 
victim,  a  criminal  or  a  prisoner,  was  occasionally  immolated. 
The  purity  of  their  religion  was  soon  stained  by  their  Celtic 
neighborhood.  In  the  course  of  the  Roman  dominion  it  be- 
came contaminated,  and  at  last  profoundly  depraved.  The 
fantastic  intermixture  of  Roman  mythology  with  the  gloomy 


10  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

but  modified  superstition  of  Romanized  Celts  was  not  favor- 
able to  the  simple  character  of  German  theology.  The  entire 
extirpation,  thus  brought  about,  of  any  conceivable  system 
of  religion,  prepared  the  way  for  a  true  revelation.  Within 
that  little  river  territory,  amid  those  obscure  morasses  of  the 
Rhine  and  Scheld,  three  great  forms  of  religion — the  san- 
guinary superstition  of  the  Druid,  the  sensuous  polytheism 
of  the  Roman,  the  elevated  but  dimly  groping  creed  of  the 
German,  stood  for  centuries,  face  to  face,  until,  having  mutu- 
ally debased  and  destroyed  each  other,  they  all  faded  away 
in  the  pure  light  of  Christianity. 

Thus  contrasted  were  Gaul  and  German  in  religious  and 
political  systems.  The  difference  was  no  less  remarkable  in 
their  social  characteristics.  The  Gaul  was  singularly  unchaste. 
The  marriage  state  was  almost  unknown.  Many  tribes  lived 
in  most  revolting  and  incestuous  concubinage  ;  brethren,  pa- 
rents, and  children,  having  wives  in  common.  The  German 
was  loyal  as  the  Celt  was  dissolute.  Alone  among  barbarians, 
he  contented  himself  with  a  single  wife,  save  that  a  few  dig- 
nitaries, from  motives  of  policy,  were  permitted  a  larger  num- 
ber. On  the  marriage  day  the  German  offered  presents  to  his 
bride — not  the  bracelets  and  golden  necklaces  with  which  the 
Gaul  adorned  his  fair-haired  concubine,  but  oxen  and  a 
bridled  horse,  a  sword,  a  shield,  and  a  spear — symbols  that 
thenceforward  she  was  to  share  his  labors  and  to  become  a 
portion  of  himself. 

They  differed,  too,  m  the  honors  paid  to  the  dead.  The 
funerals  of  the  Gauls  were  pompous.  Both  burned  the  corpse, 
but  the  Celt  cast  into  the  flames  the  favorite  animals,  and 
even  the  most  cherished  slaves  and  dependents  of  the  master. 
Vast  monuments  of  stone  or  piles  of  earth  were  raised  above 
the  ashes  of  the  dead.  Scattered  relics  of  the  Celtic  age  are 
yet  visible  throughout  Europe,  in  these  huge  but  unsightly 
memorials. 

The  German  was  not  ambitious  at  the  grave.  He  threw 
neither  garments  nor  odors  upon  the  funeral  pyre,  but  the 
arms  and  the  war-horse  of  the  departed  were  burned  and 


RELIGIOUS   AND   SOCIAL   CHARACTERISTICS.  11 

buried  with  him.  The  turf  was  his  only  sepulchre,  the 
memory  of  his  valor  his  only  monument.  Even  tears  were 
forbidden  to  the  men.  "  It  was  esteemed  honorable,"  says 
the  historian,  "  for  women  to  lament,  for  men  to  remember." 

The  parallel  need  be  pursued  no  further.  Thus  much  it 
was  necessary  to  recal  to  the  historical  student  concerning  the 
prominent  characteristics  by  which  the  two  great  races  of  the 
land  were  distinguished :  characteristics  which  Time  has  rather 
hardened  than  effaced.  In  the  contrast  and  the  separation  lies 
the  key  to  much  of  their  history.  Had  Providence  permitted 
a  fusion  of  the  two  races,  it  is  possible,  from  their  position, 
and  from  the  geographical  and  historical  link  which  they  would 
have  afforded  to  the  dominant  tribes  of  Europe,  that  a  world- 
empire  might  have  been  the  result,  different  in  many  respects 
from  any  which  has  ever  arisen.  Speculations  upon  what 
might  have  been  are  idle.  It  is  well,  however,  to  ponder  the 
many  misfortunes  resulting  from  a  mutual  repulsion,  which, 
under  other  circumstances  and  in  other  spheres,  has  been 
exchanged  for  mutual  attraction  and  support. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  sketch  rapidly  the  political  trans- 
formations undergone  by  the  country,  from  the  early  period 
down  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  ;  the  epoch  when 
the  long  agony  commenced,  out  of  which  the  Batavian  re- 
public was  born. 

III. 

The  earliest  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Netherlands  was 
written  by  their  conqueror.  Celtic  Gaul  is  already  in  the 
power  of  Borne  ;  the  Belgic  tribes,  alarmed  at  the  approach- 
ing danger,  arm  against  the  universal  tyrant.  Inflammable, 
quick  to  strike,  but  too  fickle  to  prevail  against  so  powerful  a 
foe,  they  hastily  form  a  league  of  almost  every  clan.  At  the 
first  blow  of  Cassar's  sword,  the  frail  confederacy  falls  asun- 
der like  a  rope  of  sand.  The  tribes  scatter  in  all  directions. 
Nearly  all  are  soon  defeated,  and  sue  for  mercy.  The  Nervii, 
true  to  the  German  blood  in  their  veins,  swear  to  die  rather 
than  surrender.   They,  at  least,  are  worthy  of  their  cause.  Cassar 


12  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

advances  against  them  at  the  head  of  eight  legions.  Drawn 
up  on  the  banks  of  the  Sambre,  they  await  the  Roman's  ap- 
proach. In  three  days'  march  Cresar  comes  up  with  them, 
pitches  his  'camp  upon  a  steep  hill  sloping  down  to  the  river, 
and  sends  some  cavalry  across.  Hardly  have  the  Roman  horse- 
men crossed  the  stream,  than  the  Nervii  rush  from  the  wooded 
hill-top,  overthrow  horse  and  rider,  plunge  in  one  great  mass 
into  the  current,  and,  directly  afterwards,  are  seen  charging  up 
the  hill  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  force.  "  At  the  same 
moment,"  says  the  conqueror,  "  they  seemed  in  the  wood,  in 
the  river,  and  within  our  lines."  There  is  a  panic  among  the 
Romans,  but  it  is  brief.  Eight  veteran  Roman  legions,  with 
the  world's  victor  at  their  head,  are  too  much  for  the  brave 
but  undisciplined  Nervii.  Snatching  a  shield  from  a  soldier, 
and  otherwise  unarmed,  Cassar  throws  himself  into  the  hottest 
of  the  fight.  The  battle  rages  foot  to  foot  and  hand  to  hand; 
but  the  hero's  skill,  with  the  cool  valor  of  his  troops,  proves 
invincible  as  ever.  The  Nervii,  true  to  their  vow,  die,  but  not 
a  man  surrenders.  They  fought  upon  that  day  till  the  ground 
was  heaped  with  their  dead,  while,  as  the  foremost  fell  thick 
and  fast,  their  comrades,  says  the  Roman,  sprang  upon  their 
piled-up  bodies,  and  hurled  their  javelins  at  the  enemy  as  from 
a  hill.  They  fought  like  men  to  whom  life  without  liberty 
was  a  curse.  They  were  not  defeated,  but  exterminated.  Of 
many  thousand  fighting  men  went  home  but  five  hundred. 
Upon  reaching  the  place  of  refuge  where  they  had  bestowed 
their  women  and  children,  Ceesar  found,  after  the  battle,  that 
there  were  but  three  of  their  senators  left  alive.  So  perished 
the  Nervii.  Ceesar  commanded  his  legions  to  treat  with  re- 
spect the  little  remnant  of  the  tribe  which  had  just  fallen  to 
swell  the  empty  echo  of  his  glory,  and  then,  with  hardly  a 
breathing  pause,  he  proceeded  to  annihilate  the  Aduatici,  the 
Menapii,  and  the  Morini. 

Gaul  being  thus  pacified,  as,  with  sublime  irony,  he  ex- 
presses himself  concerning  a  country  some  of  whose  tribes  had 
been  annihilated,  some  sold  as  slaves,  and  others  hunted  to 
their  lairs  like  beasts  of  prey,  the  conqueror  departed  for  Italy, 


STRUGGLES   WITH   ROME.  13 

Legations  for  peace  from  many  German  races  to  Home  were 
the  consequence  of  these  great  achievements.  Among  others 
the  Batavians  formed  an  alliance  with  the  masters  of  the  world. 
Their  position  was  always  an  honorable  one.  They  were  justly 
proud  of  paying  no  tribute,  but  it  was,  perhaps,  because  they 
had  nothing  to  pay.  They  had  few  cattle,  they  could  give  no 
hides  and  horns  like  the  Frisians,  and  they  were  therefore 
allowed  to  furnish  only  their  blood.  From  this  time  forth 
their  cavalry,  which  was  the  best  of  Germany,  became  renowned 
in  the  Koman  army  upon  every  battle-field  of  Europe. 

It  is  melancholy,  at  a  later  moment,  to  find  the  brave  Ba- 
tavians distinguished  in  the  memorable  expedition  of  Ger- 
manicus  to  crush  the  liberties  of  their  German  kindred.  They 
are  forever  associated  with  the  sublime  but  misty  image  of 
the  great  Hermann,  the  hero,  educated  in  Eome,  and  aware  of 
the  colossal  power  of  the  empire,  who  yet,  by  his  genius, 
valor,  and  political  adroitness,  preserved  for  Germany  her 
nationality,  her  purer  religion,  and  perhaps  even  that  noble 
language  which  her  late-flowering  literature  has  rendered  so 
illustrious — but  they  are  associated  as  enemies,  not  as  friends. 

Galba,  succeeding  to  the  purple  upon  the  suicide  of  Nero, 
dismissed  the  Batavian  life-guards  to  whom  he  owed  his 
elevation.  He  is  murdered,  Otho  and  Vitellius  contend 
for  the  succession,  while  all  eyes  are  turned  upon  the  eight 
Batavian  regiments.  In  their  hands  the  scales  of  empire 
seem  to  rest.  They  declare  for  Vitellius,  and  the  civil  war 
begins.  Otho  is  defeated  ;  Vitellius  acknowledged  by  Senate 
and  people.  Fearing,  like  his  predecessors,  the  imperious 
turbulence  of  the  Batavian  legions,  he,  too,  sends  them  into 
Germany.  It  was  the  signal  for  a  long  and  extensive  revolt, 
which  had  well  nigh  overturned  the  Roman  power  in  Gaul  and 
Lower  Germany. 

IV. 

Claudius  Civilis  was  a  Batavian  of  noble  race,  who 
had  served  twenty-five  years  in  the  Roman  armies.  His 
Teutonic  name  has  perished,  for,  like  most  savages  who  become 


14  THE    RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

denizens  of  a  civilized  state,  he  had  assumed  an  appellation  in 
the  tongue  of  his  superiors.  He  was  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and 
had  fought  wherever  the  Roman  eagles  flew.  After  a  quarter 
of  a  century's  service  he  was  sent  in  chains  to  Borne,  and  his 
brother  executed,  both  falsely  charged  with  conspiracy.  Such 
were  the  triumphs  adjudged  to  Batavian  auxiliaries.  He 
escaped  with  life,  and  was  disposed  to  consecrate  what  remained 
of  it  to  a  nobler  cause.  Civilis  was  no  barbarian.  Like  the 
German  hero  Arminius,  he  had  received  a  Eoman  education, 
and  had  learned  the  degraded  condition  of  Rome.  He  knew 
the  infamous  vices  of  her  rulers  :  he  retained  an  unconquerable 
love  for  liberty  and  for  his  own  race.  Desire  to  avenge  his 
own  wrongs  was  mingled  with  loftier  motives  in  his  breast. 
He  knew  that  the  sceptre  was  in  the  gift  of  the  Batavian 
soldiery.  G-alba  had  been  murdered,  Otho  had  destroyed  him- 
self, and  Vitellius,  whose  weekly  gluttony  cost  the  empire 
more  gold  than  would  have  fed  the  whole  Batavian  population 
and  converted  their  whole  island-morass  into  fertile  pastures, 
was  contending  for  the  purple  with  Vespasian,  once  an  obscure 
adventurer  like  Civilis  himself,  and  even  his  friend  and  com- 
panion in  arms.  It  seemed  a  time  to  strike  a  blow  for 
freedom. 

By  his  courage,  eloquence,  and  talent  for  political  combina- 
tions, Civilis  effected  a  general  confederation  of  all  the  Nether- 
land  tribes,  both  Celtic  and  German.  For  a  brief  moment 
there  was  a  united  people,  a  Batavian  commonwealth.  He 
found  another  source  of  strength  in  German  superstition.  On 
the  banks  of  the  Lippe,  near  its  confluence  with  the  Rhine, 
dwelt  the  Virgin  Velleda,  a  Bructerian  weird  woman,  who 
exercised  vast  influence  over  the  warriors  of  her  nation. 
Dwelling  alone  in  a  lofty  tower,  shrouded  in  a  wild  forest,  she 
was  revered  as  an  oracle.  Her  answers  to  the  demands  of  her 
worshippers  concerning  future  events  were  delivered  only  to 
a  chosen  few.  To  Civilis,  who  had  formed  a  close  friendship 
with  her,  she  promised  success,  and  the  downfall  of  the  Roman 
world.  Inspired  by  her  prophecies,  many  tribes  of  Germany 
sent  large  subsidies  to  the  Batavian  chief. 


REVOLT    UNDER    CIVILIS.  15 

The  details  of  the  revolt  have  been  carefully  preserved  by 
Tacitus,  and  form  one  of  his  grandest  and  most  elaborate 
pictures.  The  spectacle  of  a  brave  nation,  inspired  by  the 
soul  of  one  great  man  and  rising  against  an  overwhelming 
despotism,  will  always  speak  to  the  heart,  from  generation  to 
generation.  The  battles,  the  sieges,  the  defeats,  the  indom- 
itable spirit  of  Civilis,  still  flaming  most  brightly  when  the 
clouds  were  darkest  around  him,  have  been  described  by  the 
great  historian  in  his  most  powerful  manner.  The  high-born 
Roman  has  thought  the  noble  barbarian's  portrait  a  subject 
worthy  his  genius. 

The  struggle  was  an  unsuccessful  one.  After  many  victo- 
ries and  many  overthrows,  Civilis  was  left  alone.  The  Gallic 
tribes  fell  off,  and  sued  for  peace.  Vespasian,  victorious  over 
Vitellius,  proved  too  powerful  for  his  old  comrade.  Even  the 
Batavians  became  weary  of  the  hopeless  contest,  while  fortune, 
after  much  capricious  hovering,  settled  at  last  upon  the  Koman 
side.  The  imperial  commander  Cerialis  seized  the  moment 
when  the  cause  of  the  Batavian  hero  was  most  desperate  to 
send  emissaries  among  his  tribe,  and  even  to  tamper  with  the 
mysterious  woman  whose  prophecies  had  so  inflamed  his  imag- 
ination. These  intrigues  had  their  effect.  The  fidelity  of  the 
people  was  sapped  ;  the  prophetess  fell  away  from  her  wor- 
shipper, and  foretold  ruin  to  his  cause.  The  Batavians  mur- 
mured that  their  destruction  was  inevitable,  that  one  nation 
could  not  arrest  the  slavery  which  was  destined  for  the  whole 
world.  How  large  a  part  of  the  human  race  were  the  Bata- 
vians ?  What  were  they  in  a  contest  with  the  whole  Roman 
empire  ?  Moreover,  they  were  not  oppressed  with  tribute. 
They  were  only  expected  to  furnish  men  and  valor  to  their 
proud  allies.  It  was  the  next  thing  to  liberty.  If  they  were 
to  have  rulers,  it  was  better  to  serve  a  Roman  emperor  than 
a  German  witch. 

Thus  murmured  the  people.  Had  Civilis  been  successful,  he 
would  have  been  deified  ;  but  his  misfortunes,  at  last,  made 
him  odious  in  spite  of  his  heroism.  But  the  Batavian  was  not 
a  man  to  be  crushed^  nor  had  he  lived  so  long  in  the  Roman 


16  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

service  to  be  outmatched  in  politics  by  the  barbarous  Germans. 
He  was  not  to  be  sacrificed  as  a  peace-offering  to  revengeful 
Eome.  Watching  from  beyond  the  Khine  the  progress  of 
defection  and  the  decay  of  national  enthusiasm,  he  determined 
to  be  beforehand  with  those  who  were  now  his  enemies.  He 
accepted  the  offer  of  negotiation  from  Cerialis.  The  Roman 
general  was  eager  to  grant  a  full  pardon,  and  to  re-enlist  so 
brave  a  soldier  in  the  service  of  the  empire. 

A  colloquy  was  agreed  upon.  The  bridge  across  the  Nabalia 
was  broken  asunder  in  the  middle,  and  Cerialis  and  Civilis 
met  upon  the  severed  sides.  The  placid  stream  by  which 
Roman  enterprise  had  connected  the  waters  of  the  Rhine  with 
the  lake  of  Flevo,  flowed  between  the  imperial  commander  and 
the  rebel  chieftain. 

ft  ft  ft  ft  ft  ft  $ 

c-  ft  ft  jjere  the  story  abruptly  terminates.  The  remainder 
of  the  Roman's  narrative  is  lost,  and  upon  that  broken  bridge 
the  form  of  the  Batavian  hero  disappears  forever.  His  name 
fades  from  history  :  not  a  syllable  is  known  of  his  subsequent 
career  ;  every  thing  is  buried  in  the  profound  oblivion  which 
now  steals  over  the  scene  where  he  was  the  most  imposing 
actor. 

The  soul  of  Civilis  had  proved  insufficient  to  animate  a 
whole  people  ;  yet  it  was  rather  owing  to  position  than  to  any 
personal  inferiority,  that  his  name  did  not  become  as  illustrious 
as  that  of  Hermann.  The  German  j)atriot  was  neither  braver 
nor  wiser  than  the  Batavian,  but  he  had  the  infinite  forests  of 
his  fatherland  to  protect  him.  Every  legion  which  plunged 
into  those  unfathomable  depths  was  forced  to  retreat  disas- 
trously, or  to  perish  miserably.  Civilis  was  hemmed  in  by 
the  ocean  ;  his  country,  long  the  basis  of  Roman  military 
operations,  was  accessible  by  river  and  canal.  The  patriotic 
spirit  which  he  had  for  a  moment  raised,  had  abandoned 
him  ;  his  allies  had  deserted  him  ;  he  stood  alone  and  at  bay, 
encompassed  by  the  hunters,  with  death  or  surrender  as  his 
only  alternative.  Under  such  circumstances,  Hermann  could 
not   have  shown   more   courage   or  conduct,   nor   have   ter- 


REVOLTS   AGAINST   ROME   AND   SPAIN    COMPARED.  17 

minated  the  impossible  struggle  with  greater  dignity  or 
adroitness. 

The  contest  of  Civilis  with  Rome  contains  a  remarkable 
foreshadowing  of  the  future  conflict  with  Spain,  through 
which  the  Batavian  republic,  fifteen  centuries  later,  was  to  be 
founded.  The  characters,  the  events,  the  amphibious  battles, 
desperate  sieges,  slippery  alliances,  the  traits  of  generosity, 
audacity  and  cruelty,  the  generous  confidence,  the  broken 
faith  seem  so  closely  to  repeat  themselves,  that  History 
appears  to  present  the  self-same  drama  played  over  and  over 
again,  with  but  a  change  of  actors  and  of  costume.  There  is 
more  than  a  fanciful  resemblance  between  Civilis  and  William 
the  Silent,  two  heroes  of  ancient  German  stock,  who  had 
learned  the  arts  of  war  and  peace  in  the  service  of  a  foreign 
and  haughty  world-empire.  Determination,  concentration  of 
purpose,  constancy  in  calamity,  elasticity  almost  preternatural, 
self-denial,  consummate  craft  in  political  combinations,  personal 
fortitude,  and  passionate  patriotism,  were  the  heroic  elements 
in  both.  The  ambition  of  each  was  subordinate  to  the  cause 
which  he  served.  Both  refused  the  crown,  although  each, 
perhaps,  contemplated,  in  the  sequel,  a  Batavian  realm  of 
which  he  would  have  been  the  inevitable  chief.  Both  offered 
the  throne  to  a  Gallic  prince,  for  Classicus  was  but  the  proto- 
type of  Anjou,  as  Brinno  of  Brederode,  and  neither  was  destin- 
ed, in  this  world,  to  see  his  sacrifices  crowned  with  success. 

The  characteristics  of  the  two  great  races  of  the  land  por- 
trayed themselves  in  the  Roman  and  the  Spanish  struggle 
with  much  the  same  colors.  The  Southrons,  inflammable, 
petulant,  audacious,  were  the  first  to  assault  and  to  defy  the 
imperial  power  in  both  revolts,  while  the  inhabitants  of  the 
northern  provinces,  slower  to  be  aroused,  but  of  more  enduring 
wrath,  were  less  ardent  at  the  commencement,  but,  alone, 
steadfast  at  the  close  of  the  contest.  In  both  wars  the 
southern  Celts  fell  away  from  the  league,  their  courageous  but 
corrupt  chieftains  having  been  purchased  with  imperial  gold 
to  bring  about  the  abject  submission  of  their  followers  ;  while 
the  German  Netherlands,  although  eventually  subjugated  by 

VOL.  i.  2 


18  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

Rome,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  were  successful  in  the  great 
conflict  with  Spain,  and  trampled  out  of  existence  every  ves- 
tige of  her  authority.  The  Batavian  republic  took  its  rank 
among  the  leading  powers  of  the  earth  ;  the  Belgic  provinces 
remained  Roman,  Spanish,  Austrian  property. 

V. 

Obscure  but  important  movements  in  the  regions  of  eternal 
twilight,  revolutions,  of  which  history  has  been  silent,  in  the 
mysterious  depths  of  Asia,  outpourings  of  human  rivers  along 
the  sides  of  the  Altai  mountains,  convulsions  up-heaving  re- 
mote realms  and  unknown  dynasties,  shock  after  shock  throb- 
bing throughout  the  barbarian  world  and  dying  upon  the 
edge  of  civilization,  vast  throes  which  shake  the  earth  as  pre- 
cursory pangs  to  the  birth  of  a  new  empire — as  dying  symptoms 
of  the  proud  but  effete  realm  which  called  itself  the  world; 
scattered  hordes  of  sanguinary,  grotesque  savages  pushed  from 
their  own  homes,  and  hovering  with  vague  purposes  upon  the 
Roman  frontier,  constantly  repelled  and  perpetually  re-ap- 
pearing in  ever-increasing  swarms,  guided  thither  by  a  fierce 
instinct,  or  by  mysterious  laws — such  are  the  well  known 
phenomena  which  preceded  the  fall  of  western  Rome.  Stately, 
externally  powerful,  although  undermined  and  putrescent  at 
the  core,  the  death-stricken  empire  still  dashed  back  the 
assaults  of  its  barbarous  enemies. 

During  the  long  struggle  intervening  between  the  age  of 
Vespasian  and  that  of  Odoacer,  during  all  the  preliminary 
ethnographical  revolutions  which  preceded  the  great  people's- 
wandering,  the  Netherlands  remained  subject  provinces. 
Their  country  was  upon  the  high  road  which  led  the  G-oths 
to  Rome.  Those  low  and  barren  tracts  were  the  outlying 
marches  of  the  empire.  Upon  that  desolate  beach  broke 
the  first  surf  from  the  rising  ocean  of  German  freedom  which 
was  soon  to  overwhelm  Rome.  Yet,  although  the  ancient 
landmarks  were  soon  well  nigh  obliterated,  the  Netherlands 
still  remained  faithful  to  the  Empire,  Batavian  blood  was 
still  poured  out  for  its  defence 


TEUTONIC   WANDERINGS.  19 

By  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  the  Franks  and  Alle- 
manians,  alle-mannez,  all-men,  a  mass  of  united  Germans  are 
defeated  by  the  Emperor  Julian  at  Strasburg,  the  Batavian 
cavalry,  as  upon  many  other  great  occasions,  saving  the  day 
for  despotism.  This  achievement,  one  of  the  last  in  which  the 
name  appears  upon  historic  record,  was  therefore  as  triumphant 
for  the  valor  as  it  was  humiliating  to  the  true  fame  of  the 
nation.  Their  individuality  soon  afterwards  disappears,  the 
race  having  been  partly  exhausted  in  the  Roman  service, 
partly  merged  in  the  Frank  and  Frisian  tribes  who  occupy 
the  domains  of  their  forefathers. 

For  a  century  longer,  Eome  still  retains  its  outward  form, 
but  the  swarming  nations  are  now  in  full  career.  The  Nether- 
lands are  successively  or  simultaneously  trampled  by  Franks, 
Vandals,  Alani,  Suevi,  Saxons,  Frisians,  and  even  Sclavonians, 
as  the  great  march  of  Germany  to  universal  empire,  which  her 
prophets  and  bards  had  foretold,  went  majestically  forward. 
The  fountains  of  the  frozen  North  were  opened,  the  waters 
prevailed,  but  the  ark  of  Christianity  floated  upon  the  flood. 
As  the  deluge  assuaged,  the  earth  had  returned  to  chaos,  the 
last  pagan  empire  had  been  washed  out  of  existence,  but  the 
dimly,  groping,  faltering,  ignorant  infancy  of  Christian  Eu- 
rope had  begun. 

After  the  wanderings  had  subsided,  the  Netherlands  are 
found  with  much  the  same  ethnological  character  as  before. 
The  Frank  dominion  has  succeeded  the  Roman,  the  German 
stock  preponderates  over  the  Celtic,  but  the  national  ingred- 
ients, although  in  somewhat  altered  proportions,  remain 
essentially  the  same.  The  old  Belgae,  having  become 
Romanized  in  tongue  and  customs,  accept  the  new  Empire  of 
the  Franks.  That  people,  however,  pushed'  from  their  hold 
of  the  Rhine  by  thickly  thronging  hordes  of  Gepidi,  Quadi, 
Sarmati,  Heruli,  Saxons,  Burgundians,  move  towards  the 
South  and  West.  As  the  Empire  falls  before  Odoacer,  they  oc- 
cupy Celtic  Gaul  with  the  Belgian  portion  of  the  Netherlands, 
while  the  Frisians,  into  which  ancient  German  tribe  the  old 
Batavian  element  has  melted,  not  to  be  extinguished,  but  to 


20  THE    RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

live  a  renovated  existence,  the  "  free  Frisians/'  whose  name  is 
synonymous  with  liberty,  nearest  blood  relations  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race,  now  occupy  the  northern  portion,  including  the 
whole  future  European  territory  of  the  Dutch  republic. 

The  history  of  the  Franks  becomes,  therefore,  the  history  of 
the  Netherlands.  The  Frisians  struggle,  for  several  centuries, 
against  their  dominion,  until  eventually  subjugated  by  Charle- 
magne. They  even  encroach  upon  the  Franks  in  Belgic  Gaul, 
who  are  determined  not  to  yield  their  possessions.  Moreover, 
the  pious  Merovingian  fainSans  desire  to  plant  Christianity 
among  the  still  pagan  Frisians.  Dagobert,  son  of  the  second 
Clotaire,  advances  against  them  as  far  as  the  Weser,  takes 
possession  of  Utrecht,  founds  there  the  first  Christian  church 
in  Friesland,  and  establishes  a  nominal  dominion  over  the 
whole  country. 

Yet  the  feeble  Merovingians  would  have  been  powerless 
against  rugged  Friesland,  had  not  their  dynasty  already 
merged  in  that  puissant  family  of  Brabant,  which  long  wielded 
their  power  before  it  assumed  their  crown.  It  was  Pepin 
of  Heristal,  grandson  of  the  Netherlander,  Pepin  of  Landen, 
who  conquered  the  Frisian  Radbod  (a.d.  692),  and  forced 
him  to  exchange  his  royal  for  the  ducal  title. 

It  was  Pepin's  bastard,  Charles  the  Hammer,  whose  tre- 
mendous blows  completed  his  father's  work.  The  new  mayor 
of  the  palace  soon  drove  the  Frisian  chief  into  submission,  and 
even  into  Christianity.  A  bishop's  indiscretion,  however, 
neutralized  the  apostolic  blows  of  the  mayor.  The  pagan 
Radbod  had  already  immersed  one  of  his  royal  legs  in  tho 
baptismal  font,  when  a  thought  struck  him.  "  Where  are  my 
dead  forefathers  at  j)resent  ?"  he  said,  turning  suddenly  upon 
Bishop  Wolfran.  "  In  Hell,  with  all  other  unbelievers," 
was  the  imprudent  answer.  "  Mighty  well,"  replied  Radbod, 
removing  his  leg,  "  then  will  I  rather  feast  with  my  ancestors 
in  the  halls  of  Woden,  than  dwell  with  your  little  starveling 
band  of  Christians  in  Heaven."  Entreaties  and  threats  were 
unavailing.  The  Frisian  declined  positively  a  rite  which  was 
to  cause  an  eternal  separation  from  his  buried  kindred,  and  he 


INTRODUCTION   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  21 

died  as  he  had  lived,  a  heathen.  His  son,  Poppo,  succeeding 
to  the  nominal  sovereignty,  did  not  actively  oppose  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  among  his  people,  but  himself  refused 
to  be  converted.  Rebelling  against  the  Frank  dominion,  he 
was  totally  routed  by  Charles  Martell  in  a  great  battle  (a.d.750) 
and  perished  with  a  vast  number  of  Frisians.  The  Christian 
dispensation,  thus  enforced,  was  now  accepted  by  these  northern 
pagans.  The  commencement  of  their  conversion  had  been 
mainly  the  work  of  their  brethren  from  Britain.  The  monk 
Wilfred  was  followed  in  a  few  years  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  Wil- 
librod.  It  was  he  who  destroyed  the  images  of  Woden  in 
Walcheren,  abolished  his  worship,  and  founded  churches  in 
North  Holland.  Charles  Martell  rewarded  him  with  exten- 
sive domains  about  Utrecht,  together  with  many  slaves  and 
other  chattels.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
all  the  Frisians.  Thus  rose  the  famous  episcopate  of  Utrecht. 
Another  Anglo-Saxon,  Winfred,  or  Bonifacius,  had  been 
equally  active  among  his  Frisian  cousins.  His  crozier  had 
gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  battle-axe.  Bonifacius  followed 
close  upon  the  track  of  his  orthodox  coadjutor  Charles.  By 
the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  some  hundred  thousand 
Frisians  had  been  slaughtered,  and  as  many  more  converted. 
The  hammer  which  smote  the  Saracens  at  Tours  was  at  last 
successful  in  beating  the  Netherlander  into  Christianity.  The 
labors  of  Bonifacius  through  Upper  and  Lower  Germany 
were  immense  ;  but  he,  too,  received  great  material  rewards. 
He  was  created  Archbishop  of  Mayence,  and,  upon  the  death 
3f  Willibrod,  Bishop  of  Utrecht.  Faithful  to  his  mission, 
aowever,  he  met,  heroically,  a  martyr's  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  refractory  pagans  at  Dokkum.  Thus  was  Christianity 
established  in  the  Netherlands. 

Under  Charlemagne,  the  Frisians  often  rebelled,  making 
common  cause  with  the  Saxons.  In  785,  a.d.,  they  were, 
however,  completely  subjugated,  and  never  rose  again  until 
the  epoch  of  their  entire  separation  from  the  Frank  empire. 
Charlemagne  left  them  their  name  of  free  Frisians,  and  the 
property  in  their  own  land.     The  feudal  system   never   took 


22  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

root  in  their  soil.  "  The  Frisians,"  says  their  statute  book, 
"  shall  be  free,  as  long  as  the  wind  blows  out  of  the  clouds  and 
the  world  stands."  They  agreed,  however,  to  obey  the  chiefs 
whom  the  Frank  monarch  should  appoint  to  govern  them, 
according  to  their  own  laws.  Those  laws  were  collected,  and 
are  still  extant.  The  vernacular  version  of  their  Asega  book 
contains  their  ancient  customs,  together  with  the  Frank 
additions.  The  general  statutes  of  Charlemagne  were,  of 
course,  in  vigor  also  ;  but  that  great  legislator  knew  too  well 
the  importance  attached  by  all  mankind  to  local  customs,  to 
allow  his  imperial  capitulars  to  interfere,  unnecessarily,  with 
the  Frisian  laws. 

Thus  again  the  Netherlands,  for  the  first  time  since  the  fall 
cf  Rome,  were  united  under  one  crown  imperial.  They  had 
already  been  once  united,  in  their  slavery  to  Rome.  Eight 
centuries  pass  away,  and  they  are  again  united,  in  subjection  to 
Charlemagne.  Their  union  was  but  in  forming  a  single  link 
in  the  chain  of  a  new  realm.  The  reign  of  Charlemagne  had 
at  last  accomplished  the  promise  of  the  sorceress  Velleda  and 
other  soothsayers.  A  German  race  had  re-established  the 
empire  of  the  world.  The  Netherlands,  like  the  other  provinces 
cf  the  great  monarch's  dominion,  were  governed  by  crown- 
appointed  functionaries,  military  and  judicial.  In  the  north- 
eastern, or  Frisian  portion,  however,  the  grants  of  land  were 
never  in  the  form  of  revocable  benefices  or  feuds.  With  this 
important  exception,  the  whole  country  shared  the  fate,  and 
enjoyed  the  general  organization  of  the  Empire. 

But  Charlemagne  came  an  age  too  soon.  The  chaos  which 
had  brooded  over  Europe  since  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman 
world,  was  still  too  absolute.  It  was  not  to  be  fashioned  into 
permanent  forms,  even  by  his  bold  and  constructive  genius.  A 
soil,  exhausted  by  the  long  culture  of  Pagan  empires,  was  to 
lie  fallow  for  a  still  longer  period.  The  discordant  elements 
out  of  which  the  Emperor  had  compounded  his  realm,  did  not 
coalesce  during  his  life-time.  They  were  only  held  together 
by  the  vigorous  grasp  of  the  hand  which  had  combined  them. 
When  the  great  statesman  died,  his  Empire  necessarily  fell  to 


RISE  AND  FALL  OF  CHARLEMAGNE'S  REALM.       23 

pieces.  Society  had  need  of  farther  disintegration  before  it 
could  begin  to  reconstruct  itself  locally.  A  new  civilization 
was  not  to  be  improvised  by  a  single  mind.  When  did  one 
man  ever  civilize  a  people  ?  In  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries 
there  was  not  even  a  people  to  be  civilized.  The  construction 
of  Charles  was,  of  necessity,  temporary.  His  Empire  was 
supported  by  artificial  columns,  resting  upon  the  earth,  which 
fell  prostrate  almost  as  soon  as  the  hand  of  their  architect 
was  cold.  His  institutions  had  not  struck  down  into  the  soil, 
There  were  no  extensive  and  vigorous  roots  to  nourish,  from 
below,  a  flourishing  Empire  through  time  and  tempest. 

Moreover,  the  Carlovingian  race  had  been  exhausted  by  pro- 
ducing a  race  of  heroes  like  the  Pepins  and  the  Charleses.  The 
family  became,  soon,  as  contemptible  as  the  ox-drawn,  long- 
haired "  do-nothings"  whom  it  had  expelled  ;  but  it  is  not 
our  task  to  describe  the  fortunes  of  the  Emperor's  ignoble 
descendants.  The  realm  was  divided,  sub-divided,  at  times 
partially  reunited,  like  a  family  farm,  among  monarchs  in- 
competent alike  to  hold,  to  delegate,  or  to  resign  the 
inheritance  of  the  great  warrior  and  lawgiver.  The  meek, 
bald,  fat,  stammering,  simple  Charles,  or  Louis,  who  succes- 
sively sat  upon  his  throne — princes,  whose  only  historic  indi- 
viduality consists  in  these  insipid  appellations — had  not  the 
sense  to  comprehend,  far  less  to  develop,  the  plans  of  their 
ancestor. 

Charles  the  Simple  was  the  last  Carlovingian  who  governed 
Lotharingia,  in  which  wrere  comprised  most  of  the  Netherlands 
and  Friesland.  The  German  monarch,  Henry  the  Fowler,  at 
that  period  called  King  of  the  East  Franks,  as  Charles  of  the 
West  Franks,  acquired  Lotharingia  by  the  treaty  of  Bonn, 
Charles  reserving  the  sovereignty  over  the  kingdom  during  his 
lifetime.  In  925,  a.d.,  however,  the  Simpleton  having  been 
imprisoned  and  deposed  by  his  own  subjects,  the  Fowler  was 
recognized  King  of  Lotharingia.  Thus  the  Netherlands  passed 
out  of  France  into  Germany,  remaining,  still,  provinces  of  a 
loose,  disjointed  Empire. 

This  is  the  epoch  in  which  the  various  dukedoms,  earldoms, 


24  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

and  other  petty  sovereignties  of  the  Netherlands  became  hered- 
itary. It  was  in  the  year  922  that  Charles  the  Simple 
presented  to  Count  Dirk  the  territory  of  Holland,  by  letters 
patent.  This  narrow  hook  of  land,  destined,  in  future  ages, 
to  be  the  cradle  of  a  considerable  empire,  stretching  through 
both  hemispheres,  was,  thenceforth,  the  inheritance  of  Dirk's 
descendants.  Historically,  therefore,  he  is  Dirk  I.,  Count  of 
Holland. 

Of  this  small  sovereign  and  his  successors,  the  most 
powerful  foe,  for  centuries,  was  ever  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht, 
the  origin  of  whose  greatness  has  been  already  indicated. 
Of  the  other  Netherland  provinces,  now  or  before  become 
hereditary,  the  first  in  rank  was  Lotharingia,  once  the 
kingdom  of  Lothaire,  now  the  dukedom  of  Lorraine.  In 
965  it  was  divided  into  Upper  and  Lower  Lorraine,  of  which 
the  lower  duchy  alone  belonged  to  the  Netherlands.  Two 
centuries  later,  the  Counts  of  Louvain,  then  occupying  most 
of  Brabant,  obtained  a  permanent  hold  of  Lower  Lorraine,  and 
began  to  call  themselves  Dukes  of  Brabant.  The  same  prin- 
ciple of  local  independence  and  isolation  which  created  these 
dukes,  established  the  hereditary  power  of  the  counts  and 
barons  who  formerly  exercised  jurisdiction  under  them  and 
others.  Thus  arose  sovereign  Counts  of  Namur,  Hainault, 
Limburg,  Zutphen,  Dukes  of  Luxemburg  and  Gueldres, 
Barons  of  Mechlin,  Marquesses  of  Antwerp,  and  others  ;  all 
petty  autocrats.  The  most  important  of  all,  after  the  house  of 
Lorraine,  were  the  Earls  of  Flanders  ;  for  the  bold  foresters  of 
Charles  the  Great  had  soon  wrested  the  sovereignty  of  their 
little  territory  from  his  feeble  descendants  as  easily  as  Baldwin 
with  the  iron  arm,  had  dejnived  the  bald  Charles  of  his  daugh- 
ter. Holland,  Zeeland, Utrecht,  Overyssel,  Groningen,  Drenthe 
and  Friesland  (all  seven  being  portions  of  Friesland  in  a  general 
sense),  were  crowded  together  upon  a  little  desolate  corner  of 
Europe;  an  obscure  fragment  of  Charlemagne's  broken  empire. 
They  were  afterwards  to  constitute  the  United  States  of  the 
Netherlands,  one  of  the  most  powerful  republics  of  history. 
Meantime,  for  century  after  century,  the  Counts  of  Holland 


EPOCH   OF    SUBDIVIDED    SOVEREIGNTY.  25 

and  the  Bishops  of  Utrecht  were  to  exercise  divided  sway  over 
the  territory. 

Thus  the  whole  country  was  broken  into  many  shreds  and 
patches  of  sovereignty.  The  separate  history  of  such  half- 
organized  morsels  is  tedious  and  petty.  Trifling  dynasties, 
where  a  family  or  two  were  every  thing,  the  people  nothing, 
leave  little  worth  recording.  Even  the  most  devout  of  gen- 
ealogists might  shudder  to  chronicle  the  long  succession  of  so 
many  illustrious  obscure. 

A  glance,  however,  at  the  general  features  of  the  govern- 
mental system  now  established  in  the  Netherlands,  at  this 
important  epoch  in  the  world's  history,  will  show  the  trans- 
formations which  the  country,  in  common  with  other  portions 
of  the  western  world,  had  undergone. 

In  the  tenth  century  the  old  Batavian  and  later  Roman 
forms  have  faded  away.  An  entirely  new  polity  has  succeeded. 
No  great  popular  assembly  asserts  its  sovereignty,  as  in  the 
ancient  German  epoch  ;  no  generals  and  temporary  kings  are 
chosen  by  the  nation.  The  elective  power  had  been  lost  under 
the  Romans,  who,  after  conquest,  had  conferred  the  adminis- 
trative authority  over  their  subject  provinces  upon  officials 
appointed  by  the  metropolis.  The  Franks  pursued  the  same 
course.  In  Charlemagne's  time,  the  revolution  is  complete. 
Popular  assemblies  and  popular  election  entirely  vanish. 
Military,  civil,  and  judicial  officers — dukes,  earls,  margraves, 
and  others — are  all  king's  creatures,  knegton  des  honing  s,  pueri 
regis,  and  so  remain,  till  they  abjure  the  creative  power, 
and  set  up  their  own.  The  principle  of  Charlemagne,  that  his 
officers  should  govern  according  to  local  custom,  helps  them  to 
achieve  their  own  independence,  while  it  preserves  all  that  is 
left  of  national  liberty  and  law. 

The  counts,  assisted  by  inferior  judges,  hold  diets  from  time 
to  time — thrice,  perhaps,  annually.  They  also  summon  assem- 
blies in  case  of  war.  Thither  are  called  the  great  vassals, 
who,  in  turn.,  call  their  lesser  vassals,  each  armed  with  "  a 
shield,  a  spear,  a  bow,  twelve  arrows,  and  a  cuirass."  Such 
assemblies,  convoked  in  the  name  of  a  distant  sovereign,  whose 


26  THE   KISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

face  his  subjects  had  never  seen,  whose  language  they  could 
hardly  understand,  were  very  different  from  those  tumultuous 
mass-meetings,  where  boisterous  freemen,  armed  with  the 
weapons  they  loved  the  best,  and  arriving  sooner  or  later,  ac- 
cording to  their  pleasure,  had  been  accustomed  to  elect  their 
generals  and  magistrates  and  to  raise  them  upon  their  shields. 
The  people  are  now  governed,  their  rulers  appointed  by  an  in- 
visible hand.  Edicts,  issued  by  a  power,  as  it  were,  super- 
natural, demand  implicit  obedience.  The  people,  acquiescing 
in  their  own  annihilation,  abdicate  not  only  their  political  but 
their  personal  rights.  On  the  other  hand,  the  great  source  of 
power  diffuses  less  and  less  of  light  and  warmth.  Losing  its 
attractive  and  controlling  influence,  it  becomes  gradually 
eclipsed,  while  its  satellites  fly  from  their  prescribed  bounds  and 
chaos  and  darkness  return.  The  sceptre,  stretched  over  realms 
so  wide,  requires  stronger  hands  than  those  of  degenerate  Car- 
lovingians.  It  breaks  asunder.  Functionaries  become  sover- 
eigns, with  hereditary,  not  delegated,  right  to  own  the  people, 
to  tax  their  roads  and  rivers,  to  take  tithings  of  their  blood 
and  sweat,  to  harass  them  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  There 
is  no  longer  a  metropolis  to  protect  them  from  official  oppres- 
sion. Power,  the  more  sub-divided,  becomes  the  more  tyran- 
nical. The  sword  is  the  only  symbol  of  law,  the  cross  is  a 
weapon  of  offence,  the  bishop  is  a  consecrated  pirate,  every  petty 
baron  a  burglar,  while  the  people,  alternately  the  prey  of  duke, 
prelate,  and  seignor,  shorn  and  butchered  like  sheep,  esteem  it 
happiness  to  sell  themselves  into  slavery,  or  to  huddle  beneath 
the  castle  walls  of  some  little  potentate,  for  the  sake  of  his 
wolfish  protection.  Here  they  build  hovels,  which  they  sur- 
round from  time  to  time  with  palisades  and  muddy  entrench- 
ments ;  and  here,  in  these  squalid  abodes  of  ignorance  and 
misery,  the  genius  of  Liberty,  conducted  by  the  spirit  of 
Commerce,  descends  at  last  to  awaken  mankind  from  its  sloth 
and  cowardly  stupor.  A  longer  night  was  to  intervene,  how- 
ever, before  the  dawn  of  day. 

The  crown-appointed   functionaries   had   been,  of  course, 
financial  officers.     They  collected  the  revenue  of  the  sovereign, 


MEDIAEVAL   SYSTEMS   CHARACTERIZED.  27 

one  third  of  which  slipped  through  their  ringers  into  their 
own  coffers.  Becoming  sovereigns  themselves,  they  retain 
these  funds  for  their  private  emolument.  Four  principal  sources 
yielded  this  revenue  :  royal  domains,  tolls  and  imposts,  direct, 
levies  and  a  pleasantry  called  voluntary  contributions  orbenev- 
olences.  In  addition  to  these  supplies  were  also  the  proceeds 
of  fines.  Taxation  upon  sin  was,  in  those  rude  ages,  a  con- 
siderable branch  of  the  revenue.  The  old  Frisian  laws  consisted 
almost  entirely  of  a  discriminating  tariff  upon  crimes.  Nearly 
all  the  misdeeds  which  man  is  prone  to  commit,  were  punished 
by  a  money-bote  only.  Murder,  larceny,  arson,  rape — all 
offences  against  the  person  were  commuted  for  a  definite  price. 
There  were  a  few  exceptions,  such  as  parricide,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  loss  cf  inheritance  ;  sacrilege  and  the  murder  of  a 
master  by  a  slave,  which  were  punished  with  death.  It  is  a 
natural  inference  that,  as  the  royal  treasury  was  enriched  by 
these  imposts,  the  sovereign  would  hardly  attempt  to  check 
the  annual  harvest  of  iniquity  by  which  his  revenue  was  in- 
creased. Still,  although  the  moral  sense  is  shocked  by  a 
system  which  makes  the  ruler's  interest  identical  with  the 
wickedness  of  his  people,  and  holds  out  a  comparative  im- 
munity in  evil-doing  for  the  rich,  it  was  better  that  crime 
should  be  punished  by  money  rather  than  not  be  punished  at 
all.  A  severe  tax,  which  the  noble  reluctantly  paid  and  which 
the  penniless  culprit  commuted  by  personal  slavery,  was  suffi- 
ciently unjust  as  well  as  absurd,  yet  it  served  to  mitigate  the 
horrors  with  which  tumult,  rapine,  and  murder  enveloped 
those  early  days.  Gradually,  as  the  light  of  reason  broke  upon 
the  dark  ages,  the  most  noxious  features  of  the  system  were 
removed,  while  the  general  sentiment  of  reverence  for  law 
remained. 

VI. 

Five  centuries  of  isolation  succeed.  In  the  Netherlands,  as 
throughout  Europe,  a  thousand  obscure  and  slender  rills  are 
slowly  preparing  the  great  stream  of  universal  culture.  Five 
dismal  centuries  of  feudalism  :  during  which  period  there  is 


28  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

little  talk  of  human  right,  little  obedience  to  divine  reason. 
Rights  there  are  none,  only  forces  ;  and,  in  brief,  three  great 
forces,  gradually  arising,  developing  themselves,  acting  upon 
each  other,  and  upon  the  general  movement  of  society. 

The  sword — the  first,  for  a  time  the  only  force  :  the  force 
of  iron.  The  "  land's  master,"  having  acquired  the  property 
in  the  territory  and  in  the  people  who  feed  thereon,  distrib- 
utes to  his  subalterns,  often  but  a  shade  beneath  him  in 
power,  portions  of  his  estate,  getting  the  use  of  their  faithful 
swords  in  return.  Vavasours  subdivide  again  to  vassals,  ex- 
changing land  and  cattle,  human  or  otherwise,  against  fealty, 
and  so  the  iron  chain  of  a  military  hierarchy,  forged  of  mutually 
interdependent  links,  is  stretched  over  each  little  province. 
Impregnable  castles,  here  more  numerous  than  in  any  other 
part  of  Christendom,  dot  the  level  surface  of  the  country. 
Mail-clad  knights,  with  their  followers,  encamp  permanently 
upon  the  soil.  The  fortunate  fable  of  divine  right  is  invented 
to  sanction  the  system  ;  superstition  and  ignorance  give  cur- 
rency to  the  delusion.  Thus  the  grace  of  God,  having  con- 
ferred the  property  in  a  vast  portion  of  Europe  upon  a  certain 
idiot  in  France,  makes  him  competent  to  sell  large  fragments 
of  his  estate,  and  to  give  a  divine,  and,  therefore,  most  satis- 
factory title  along  with  them.  A  great  convenience  to  a  man, 
who  had  neither  power,  wit,  nor  will  to  keep  the  property  in 
his  own  hands.  So  the  Dirks  of  Holland  get  a  deed  from 
Charles  the  Simple,  and,  although  the  grace  of  God  does  not 
prevent  the  royal  grantor  himself  from  dying  a  miserable, 
discrowned  captive,  the  conveyance  to  Dirk  is  none  the  less 
hallowed  by  almighty  fiat.  So  the  Roberts  and  Guys,  the 
Johns  and  Baldwins,  become  sovereigns  in  Hainault,  Brabant, 
Flanders  and  other  little  districts,  affecting  supernatural  sanc- 
tion for  the  authority  which  their  good  swords  have  won  and 
are  ever  ready  to  maintain.  Thus  organized,  the  force  of  iron 
asserts  and  exerts  itself.  Duke,  count,  seignor  and  vassal, 
knight  and  squire,  master  and  man  swarm  and  struggle  amain. 
A  wild,  chaotic,  sanguinary  scene.  Here,  bishop  and  baron 
contend,  centuries  long,  murdering  human  creatures  by  ten- 


THE   THREE    FORCES.  29 

thousands  for  an  acre  or  two  of  swampy  pasture  ;  there, 
doughty  families,  hugging  old  musty  quarrels  to  their  heart, 
buffet  each  other  from  generation  to  generation  ;  thus  they 
go  on,  raging  and  wrestling  among  themselves,  with  all  the 
world,  shrieking  insane  war-cries  which  no  human  soul  ever 
understood — red  caps  and  black,  white  hoods  and  grey,  Hooks 
and  Kabbeljaws,  dealing  destruction,  building  castles  and 
burning  them,  tilting  at  tourneys,  stealing  bullocks,  roasting 
Jews,  robbing  the  highways,  crusading — now  upon  Syrian  sands 
against  Paynim  dogs,  now  in  Frisian  quagmires  against  Albi- 
genses,  Stedingers,  and  other  heretics — plunging  about  in 
blood  and  fire,  repenting,  at  idle  times,  and  paying  their  pass- 
age through  purgatory  with  large  slices  of  ill-gotten  gains 
placed  in  the  ever-extended  dead-hand  of  the  Church ;  acting, 
on  the  whole,  according  to  their  kind,  and  so  getting  them- 
selves civilized  or  exterminated,  it  matters  little  which.  Thus 
they  play  their  part,  those  energetic  men-at-arms  ;  and  thus 
one  great  force,  the  force  of  iron,  spins  and  expands  itself, 
century  after  century,  helping  on,  as  it  whirls,  the  great  pro- 
gress of  society  towards  its  goal,  wherever  that  may  be. 

Another  force — the  force  clerical — the  power  of  clerks, 
arises  ;  the  might  of  educated  mind  measuring  itself  against 
brute  violence  ;  a  force  embodied,  as  often  before,  as  priest- 
craft— the  strength  of  priests  :  craft  meaning,  simply,  strength, 
in  our  old  mother-tongue.  This  great  force,  too,  develops 
itself  variously,  being  sometimes  beneficent,  sometimes  malig- 
nant. Priesthood  works  out  its  task,  age  after  age  :  now 
smoothing  penitent  death-beds,  consecrating  graves,  feeding 
the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  incarnating  the  Christian 
precepts,  in  an  age  of  rapine  and  homicide,  doing  a  thousand 
deeds  of  love  and  charity  among  the  obscure  and  forsaken — 
deeds  of  which  there  shall  never  be  human  chronicle,  but  a 
leaf  or  two,  perhaps,  in  the  recording  angel's  book  ;  hiving 
precious  honey  from  the  few  flowers  of  gentle  art  which  bloom 
upon  a  howling  wilderness  ;  holding  up  the  light  of  science 
over  a  stormy  sea  ;  treasuring  in  convents  and  crypts  the  few 
fossils  of  antique  learning  which  become  visible,  as  the  extinct 


30  THE   KISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

Megatherium  of  an  elder  world  reappears  after  the  gothic 
deluge  ;  and  now,  careering  in  helm  and  hauberk  with  the 
other  ruffians,  bandying  blows  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
blasting  with  bell,  book,  and  candle  its  trembling  enemies, 
while  sovereigns,  at  the  head  of  armies,  grovel  in  the  dust 
and  offer  abject  submission  for  the  Mss  of  peace  ;  exercising 
the  same  conjury  over  ignorant  baron  and  cowardly  hind, 
making  the  fiction  of  apostolic  authority  to  bind  and  loose,  as 
prolific  in  acres  as  the  other  divine  right  to  have  and  hold  ; 
thus  the  force  of  cultivated  intellect,  wielded  by  a  chosen 
few  and  sanctioned  by  supernatural  authority,  becomes  as 
potent  as  the  sword. 

A  third  force,  developing  itself  more  slowly,  becomes  even 
more  potent  than  the  rest:  the  power  of  gold.  Even  iron 
yields  to  the  more  ductile  metal.  The  importance  of  munici- 
palities, enriched  by  trade,  begins  to  be  felt.  Commerce,  the 
mother  of  Netherland  freedom,  and,  eventually,  its  destroyer 
— even  as  in  all  human  history  the  vivifying  becomes  afterwards 
the  dissolving  principle — commerce  changes  insensibly  and 
miraculously  the  aspect  of  society.  Clusters  of  hovels  become 
towered  cities  ;  the  green  and  gilded  Hanse  of  commercial 
republicanism  coils  itself  around  the  decaying  trunk  of  feudal 
despotism.  Cities  leagued  with  cities  throughout  and  beyond 
Christendom — empire  within  empire — bind  themselves  closer 
and  closer  in  the  electric  chain  of  human  sympathy  and  grow 
stronger  and  stronger  by  mutual  support.  Fishermen  and 
river  raftsmen  become  ocean  adventurers  and  merchant  princes. 
Commerce  plucks  up  half-drowned  Holland  by  the  locks  and 
pours  gold  into  her  lap.  Gold  wrests  power  from  iron.  Needy 
Flemish  weavers  become  mighty  manufacturers.  Armies  of 
workmen,  fifty  thousand  strong,  tramp  through  the  swarming 
streets.  Silk-makers,  clothiers,  brewers  become  the  gossips 
of  kings,  lend  their  royal  gossips  vast  sums  and  burn  the 
royal  notes  of  hand  in  fires  of  cinnamon  wood.  Wealth  brings 
strength,  strength  confidence.  Learning  to  handle  cross-bow 
and  dagger,  the  burghers  fear  less  the  baronial  sword,  find- 
ing that  their  own  will  cut  as  well,  seeing  that  great  armies 


RISE   OF   MUNICIPAL   POWER.  31 

— flowers  of  chivalry — can  ride  away  before  them  fast  enough 
at  battles  of  spurs  and  other  encounters.  Sudden  riches  beget 
insolence,  tumults,  civic  broils.  Internecine  quarrels,  horrible 
tumults  stain  the  streets  with  blood,  but  education  lifts  the 
citizens  more  and  more  out  of  the  original  slough.  They  learn 
to  tremble  as  little  at  priestcraft  as  at  swordcraft,  having  ac- 
quired something  of  each.  Gold  in  the  end,  unsanctioned  by 
right  divine,  weighs  up  the  other  forces,  supernatural  as  they 
are.  And  so,  struggling  along  their  appointed  path,  making 
cloth,  making  money,  making  treaties  with  great  kingdoms, 
making  war  by  land  and  sea,  ringing  great  bells,  waving  great 
banners,  they,  too — these  insolent,  boisterous  burghers — ac- 
complish their  work.  Thus,  the  mighty  power  of  the  purse 
develops  itself  and  municipal  liberty  becomes  a  substantial 
fact.  A  fact,  not  a  principle  ;  for  the  old  theorem  of  sovereign- 
ty remains  undisputed  as  ever.  Neither  the  nation,  in  mass, 
nor  the  citizens,  in  class,  lay  claim  to  human  rights.  All  upper 
attributes — legislative,  judicial,  administrative — remain  in  the 
land-master's  breast  alone.  It  is  an  absurdity,  therefore,  to 
argue  with  Grotius  concerning  the  unknown  antiquity  of  the 
Batavian  republic.  The  republic  never  existed  at  all  till  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  was  only  born  after  long  years  of  agony. 
The  democratic  instincts  of  the  ancient  German  savages  were 
to  survive  in  the  breasts  of  their  cultivated  descendants,  but 
an  organized,  civilized,  republican  polity  had  never  existed. 
The  cities,  as  they  grew  in  strength,  never  claimed  the  right 
to  make  the  laws  or  to  share  in  the  government.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  they  did  make  the  laws,  and  shared,  beside,  in  most  im- 
portant functions  of  sovereignty,  in  the  treaty-making  power, 
especially.  Sometimes  by  bargains,  sometimes  by  blood,  by 
gold,  threats,  promises,  or  good  hard  blows  they  extorted  their 
charters.  Their  codes,  statutes,  joyful  entrances,  and  other 
constitutions  were  dictated  by  the  burghers  and  sworn  to  by 
the  monarch.  They  were  concessions  from  above  ;  privileges — 
private  laws  ;  fragments  indeed  of  a  larger  liberty,  but  vastly 
better  than  the  slavery  for  which  they  had  been  substituted; 
solid  facts  instead  of  empty  abstractions,  which,  in  those  prac- 


32  THE    EISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

tical  and  violent  days,  would  have  yielded  little  nutriment ; 
but  they  still  rather  sought  to  reconcile  themselves,  by  a  rough, 
clumsy  fiction,  with  the  hierarchy  which  they  had  invaded, 
than  to  overturn  the  system.  Thus  the  cities,  not  regarding 
themselves  as  representatives  or  aggregations  of  the  people, 
became  fabulous  personages,  bodies  without  souls,  corpora- 
tions which  had  acquired  vitality  and  strength  enough  to  as- 
sert their  existence.  As  persons,  therefore — gigantic  individ- 
ualities— they  wheeled  into  the  feudal  ranks  and  assumed 
feudal  powers  and  responsibilities.  The  city  of  Dort,  of 
Middelburg,  of  Ghent,  of  Louvain,  was  a  living  being,  doing 
fealty,  claiming  service,  bowing  to  its  lord,,  struggling  with 
its  equals,  trampling  upon  its  slaves. 

Thus,  in  these  obscure  provinces,  as  throughout  Europe,  in 
a  thousand  remote  and  isolated  corners,  civilization  builds  it- 
self up,  synthetically  and  slowly ;  yet  at  last,  a  whole  is  likely 
to  get  itself  constructed.  Thus,  impelled  by  great  and  con- 
flicting forces,  now  obliquely,  now  backward,  now  upward,  yet, 
upon  the  whole,  onward,  the  new  Society  moves  along  its 
predestined  orbit,  gathering  consistency  and  strength  as  it  goes. 
Society,  civilization,  perhaps,  but  hardly  humanity.  The 
people  has  hardly  begun  to  extricate  itself  from  the  clods  in 
which  it  lies  buried.  There  are  only  nobles,  priests,  and, 
latterly,  cities.  In  the  northern  Netherlands,  the  degraded 
condition  of  the  mass  continued  longest.  Even  in  Friesland, 
liberty,  the  dearest  blessing  of  the  ancient  Frisians,  had  been 
forfeited  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Slavery  was  both  voluntary 
and  compulsory;  Paupers  sold  themselves  that  they  might 
escape  starvation.  The  timid  sold  themselves  that  they  might 
escape  violence.  These  voluntary  sales,  which  were  frequent, 
were  usually  made  to  cloisters  and  ecclesiastical  establishments, 
for  the  condition  of  Church-slaves  was  preferable  to  that  of  other 
serfs.  Persons  worsted  in  judicial  duels,  ship  wrecked  sailors, 
vagrants,  strangers,  criminals  unable  to  pay  the  money-bote 
imposed  upon  them,  were  all  deprived  of  freedom  ;  but  the 
prolific  source  of  slavery  was  war.  Prisoners  were  almost 
universally  reduced  to  servitude.     A  free  woman  who  inter- 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.  33 

married  with  a  slave  condemned  herself  and  offspring  to  per- 
petual bondage.  Among  the  Kipuarian  Franks,  a  free  woman 
thus  disgracing  herself,  was  girt  with  a  sword  and  a  distaff. 
Choosing  the  one,  she  was  to  strike  her  husband  dead  ;  choos- 
ing the  other,  she  adopted  the  symbol  of  slavery,  and  became 
a  chattel  for  life. 

The  ferocious  inroads  of  the  Normans  scared  many  weak 
and  timid  persons  into  servitude.  They  fled,  by  throngs,  to 
church  and  monastery,  and  were  happy,  by  enslaving  them- 
selves, to  escape  the  more  terrible  bondage  of  the  sea-kingS' 
During  the  brief  dominion  of  the  Norman  Godfrey,  every  free 
Frisian  was  forced  to  wear  a  halter  around  his  neck.  The  lot 
of  a  Church-slave  was  freedom  in  comparison.  To  kill  him  was 
punishable  by  a  heavy  fine.  He  could  give  testimony  in  court, 
could  inherit,  could  make  a  will,  could  even  plead  before  the 
law,  if  law  could  be  found.  The  number  of  slaves  throughout 
the  Netherlands  was  very  large  ;  the  number  belonging  to  the 
bishopric  of  Utrecht,  enormous. 

The  condition  of  those  belonging  to  laymen  was  much  more 
painful.  The  Lyf-eigene,  or  absolute  slaves,  were  the  most 
wretched.  They  were  mere  brutes.  They  had  none  of  the 
natural  attributes  of  humanity,  their  life  and  death  were  in 
the  master's  hands,  they  had  no  claim  to  a  fraction  of  their 
own  labor  or  its  fruits,  they  had  no  marriage,  except  under 
condition  of  the  infamous  jus  primce  noctis.  The  villagers,  or 
villeins,  were  the  second  class  and  less  forlorn.  They  could 
commute  the  labor  due  to  their  owner  by  a  fixed  sum  of 
money,  after  annual  payment  of  which,  the  villein  worked  for 
himself.  His  master,  therefore,  was  not  his  absolute  pro- 
prietor. The  chattel  had  a  beneficial  interest  in  a  portion  of 
his  own  flesh  and  blood. 

The  crusades  made  great  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
the  serfs.  He  who  became  a  soldier  of  the  cross  was  free  upon 
his  return,  and  many  were  adventurous  enough  to  purchase 
liberty  at  so  honorable  a  price.  Many  others  were  sold  or 
mortgaged  by  the  crusading  knights,  desirous  of  converting 
their  property  into  gold,  before  embarking  upon  their  enter- 

vol.  i.  3 


34  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

prise.  The  purchasers  or  mortgagees  were  in  general  churches 
and  convents,  so  that  the  slaves,  thus  alienated,  obtained  at 
least  a  preferable  servitude.  The  place  of  the  absent  serfs  was 
supplied  by  free  labor,  so  that  agricultural  and  mechanical 
occupations,  now  devolving  upon  a  more  elevated  class,  became 
less  degrading,  and,  in  process  of  time,  opened  an  ever-widening 
sphere  for  the  industry  and  progress  of  freemen.  Thus  a 
people  began  to  exist.  It  was,  however,  a  miserable  people, 
with  personal,  but  no  civil  rights  whatever.  Their  condition, 
although  better  than  servitude,  was  almost  desperate.  They 
were  taxed  beyond  their  ability,  while  priest  and  noble  were 
exempt.  They  had  no  voice  in  the  apportionment  of  the 
money  thus  contributed.  There  was  no  redress  against  the 
lawless  violence  to  which  they  were  perpetually  exposed.  In 
the  manorial  courts,  the  criminal  sat  in  judgment  upon  his 
victim.  The  functions  of  highwayman  and  magistrate  were 
combined  in  one  individual. 

By  degrees,  the  class  of  freemen,  artisans,  traders,  and  the 
like,  becoming  the  more  numerous,  built  stronger  and  better 
houses  outside  the  castle  gates  of  the  "  land's  master"  or  the 
burghs  of  the  more  powerful  nobles.  The  superiors,  anxious 
to  increase  their  own  importance,  favored  the  progress  of  the 
little  boroughs.  The  population,  thus  collected,  began  to 
divide  themselves  into  guilds.  These  were  soon  afterwards 
erected  by  the  community  into  bodies  corporate  ;  the  establish- 
ment of  the  community,  of  course,  preceding  the  incorporation 
of  the  guilds.  Those  communities  were  created  by  charters  or 
Keuren,  granted  by  the  sovereign.  Unless  the  earliest  con- 
cessions of  this  nature  have  perished,  the  town  charters  of 
Holland  or  Zeland  are  nearly  a  century  later  than  those  of 
Flanders,  France,  and  England. 

The  oldest  Keur,  or  act  of  municipal  incorporation,  in  the 
provinces  afterwards  constituting  the  republic,  was  that  granted 
by  Count  William  the  First  of  Holland  and  Countess  Joanna  of 
Flanders,  as  joint  proprietors  of  Walcheren,  to  the  town  of 
Middelburg.  It  will  be  seen  that  its  main  purport  is  to 
promise,  as  a  special  privilege  to  this  community,  law,  in  place 


EAELY   CHARTERS.  85 

of  the  arbitriry  violence  by  which  mankind,  in  general,  were 
governed  by  their  betters. 

"  The  inhabitants/'  ran  the  Charter,  "  are  taken  into  pro- 
tection by  both  counts.  Upon  righting,  maiming,  wounding, 
striking,  scolding  ;  upon  peace-breaking,  upon  resistance  to 
peace-makers  and  to  the  judgment  of  Schepens  ;  upon  con- 
temning the  Ban,  upon  selling  spoiled  wine,  and  upon  other 
misdeeds  fines  are  imposed  for  behoof  of  the  Count,  the  city, 
and  sometimes  of  the  Schepens.  *  °  *  *  *  To  all 
Middelburgers  one  kind  of  law  is  guaranteed.  Every  man 
must  go  to  law  before  the  Schepens.  If  any  one  being  sum- 
moned and  present  in  Walcheren  does  not  appear,  or  refuses 
submission  to  sentence,  he  shall  be  banished  with  confiscation 
of  property.  Sellout  or  Schepen  denying  justice  to  a  com- 
plainant, shall,  until  reparation,  hold  no  tribunal  again.  *  ° 
A  burgher  having  a  dispute  with  an  outsider  (buiten  mann) 
must  summon  him  before  the  Schepens.  An  appeal  lies  from 
the  Schepens  to  the  Count.  No  one  can  testify  but  a  house- 
holder. All  alienation  of  real  estate  must  take  place  before 
the  Schepens.  If  an  outsider  has  a  complaint  against  a 
burgher,  the  Schepens  and  Schout  must  arrange  it.  If  either 
party  refuses  submission  to  them,  they  must  ring  the  town 
bell  and  summon  an  assembly  of  all  the  burghers  to  compel 
him.  Any  one  ringing  the  town  bell,  except  by  general  con- 
sent, and  any  one  not  appearing  when  it  tolls,  are  liable  to  a 
fine.  No  Middelburger  can  be  arrested  or  held  in  durance 
within  Flanders  or  Holland,  except  for  crime." 

This  document  was  signed,  sealed,  and  sworn  to  by  the  two 
sovereigns  in  the  year  1217.  It  was  the  model  upon  which 
many  other  communities,  cradles  of  great  cities,  in  Holland 
and  Zeland,  were  afterwards  created. 

These  charters  are  certainly  not  very  extensive,  even  for  the 
privileged  municipalities  which  obtained  them,  when  viewed 
from  an  abstract  stand-point.  They  constituted,  however,  a 
very  great  advance  from  the  stand-point  at  which  humanity 
actually  found  itself.  They  created,  not  for  all  inhabitants, 
but  for  great  numbers  of  them,  the  right,  not  to  govern  them- 


36  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

selves  but  to  be  governed  by  law.  They  furnished  a  local 
administration  of  justice.  They  provided  against  arbitrary 
imprisonment.  They  set  up  tribunals,  where  men  of  burgher 
class  were  to  sit  in  judgment.  They  held  up  a  shield  against 
arbitrary  violence  from  above  and  sedition  from  within.  They 
encouraged  peace-makers,  punished  peace-breakers.  They 
guarded  the  fundamental  principle,  ut  sua  tenerent,  to  the  verge 
of  absurdity  ;  forbidding  a  freeman,  without  a  freehold,  from 
testifying — a  capacity  not  denied  even  to  a  country  slave, 
Certainly  all  this  was  better  than  fist-law  and  courts  manorial. 
For  the  commencement  of  the  thirteenth  century,  it  was 
progress. 

The  Schout  and  Schepens,  or  chief  magistrate  and  alder- 
men, were  originally  appointed  by  the  sovereign.  In  process 
of  time,  the  election  of  these  municipal  authorities  was  con- 
ceded to  the  communities.  This  inestimable  privilege,  how- 
ever, after  having  been  exercised  during  a  certain  period  by 
the  whole  body  of  citizens,  was  eventually  monopolized  by 
the  municipal  government  itself,  acting  in  common  with  the 
deans  of  the  various  guilds. 

Thus  organized  and  inspired  with  the  breath  of  civic  life, 
the  communities  of  Flanders  and  Holland  began  to  move 
rapidly  forward.  More  and  more  they  assumed  the  appear- 
ance of  prosperous  little  republics.  For  this  prosperity  they 
were  indebted  to  commerce,  particularly  with  England  and  the 
Baltic  nations,  and  to  manufactures,  especially  of  wool. 

The  trade  between  England  and  the  Netherlands  had 
existed  for  ages,  and  was  still  extending  itself,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  both  countries.  A  dispute,  however,  between 
the  merchants  of  Holland  and  England,  towards  the  year 
1275,  caused  a  privateering  warfare,  and  a  ten  years'  sus- 
pension of  intercourse.  A  reconciliation  afterwards  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  English  wool  staple,  at  Dort.  A  subse- 
quent quarrel  deprived  Holland  of  this  great  advantage. 
King  Edward  refused  to  assist  Count  Florence  in  a  war  with 
the  Flemings,  and  transferred  the  staple  from  Dort  to  Bruges 
and  Mechlin. 


EXPANSION   OF   MUNICIPAL   POWER.  37 

The  trade  of  the  Netherlands  with  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  East  was  mainly  through  this  favored  city  of  Bruges, 
which,  already  in  the  thirteenth  century,  had  risen  to  the  first 
rank  in  the  commercial  world.  It  was  the  resting-place  for 
the  Lombards  and  other  Italians,  the  great  entrepot  for  their 
merchandise.  It  now  became,  in  addition,  the  great  market- 
place for  English  wool,  and  the  woollen  fabrics  of  all  the 
Netherlands,  as  well  as  for  the  drugs  and  spices  of  the  East. 
It  had,  however,  by  no  means  reached  its  apogee,  but  was  to 
culminate  with  Venice,  and  to  sink  with  her  decline.  When 
the  overland  Indian  trade  fell  off  with  the  discovery  of  the 
Cape  passage,  both  cities  withered.  Grass  grew  in  the  fair 
and  pleasant  streets  of  Bruges,  and  sea-weed  clustered  about 
the  marble  hails  of  Venice.  At  this  epoch,  however,  both, 
were  in  a  state  of  rapid  and  insolent  prosperity. 

The  cities,  thus  advancing  in  wealth  and  importance,  we" 
no  longer  satisfied  with  being  governed  according  to  law,  an., 
began  to  participate,  not  only  in  their  own,  but  in  the  general 
government.  Under  Guy  of  Flanders,  the  towns  appeared 
regularly,  as  well  as  the  nobles,  in  the  assembly  of  the  provin- 
cial estates.  (1386 — 1389,  a.d.)  In  the  course  of  the  follow- 
ing century,  the  six  chief  cities,  or  capitals,  of  Holland  (Dort, 
Harlem,  Delft,  Leyden,  Goada,  and  Amsterdam)  acquired  the 
right  of  sending  their  deputies  regularly  to  the  estates  of  the 
provinces.  These  towns,  therefore,  with  the  nobles,  consti- 
tuted the  parliamentary  power  of  the  nation.  They  also  ac- 
quired letters  patent  from  the  count,  allowing  them  to  choose 
their  burgomasters  and  a  limited  number  of  councillors  or 
cenators  (Vroedschappen). 

Thus  the  liberties  of  Holland  and  Flanders  waxed,  daily, 
stronger.  A  great  physical  convulsion  in  the  course  of  the 
thirteenth  century  came  to  add  its  influence  to  the  slower 
process  of  political  revolution.  Hitherto  there  had  been  but 
one  Friesland,  including  Holland,  and  nearly  all  the  territory 
of  the  future  republic.  A  slender  stream  alone  separated  the 
two  great  districts.  The  low  lands  along  the  Vlie,  often 
threatened,  at  last  sank  in  the  waves.     The  German  Ocean 


88  THE    RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

rolled  in  upon  the  inland  Lake  of  Flevo.  The  stormy  Zuyder 
Zee  began  its  existence  by  engulfing  thousands  of  Frisian 
villages,  with  all  their  population,  and  by  spreading  a  chasm 
between  kindred  peoples.  The  political,  as  well  as  the  geo- 
graphical, continuity  of  the  land  was  obliterated  by  this 
tremendous  deluge.  The  Hollanders  were  cut  off  from  their 
relatives  in  the  east  by  as  dangerous  a  sea  as  that  which 
divided  them  from  their  Anglo-Saxon  brethren  in  Britain. 
The  deputies  to  the  general  assemblies  at  Aurich  could  no 
longer  undertake  a  journey  grown  so  perilous.  West  Friesland 
became  absorbed  in  Holland.  East  Friesland  remained  a 
federation  of  rude  but  self-governed  maritime  provinces,  until 
the  brief  and  bloody  dominion  of  the  Saxon  dukes  led  to  the 
establishment  of  Charles  the  Fifth's  authority.  Whatever  the 
nominal  sovereignty  over  them,  this  most  republican  tribe  of 
Netherlander,  or  of  Europeans,  had  never  accepted  feudalism. 
There  was  an  annual  congress  of  the  whole  confederacy.  Each 
of  the  seven  little  states,  on  the  other  hand,  regulated  its  own 
internal  affairs.  Each  state  was  subdivided  into  districts, 
each  district  governed  by  a  Griet-mann  (great-man,  select- 
man) and  assistants.  Above  all  these  district  officers  was  a 
Podesta,  a  magistrate  identical,  in  name  and  functions,  with 
the  chief  officer  of  the  Italian  republics.  There  was  some- 
times but  one  Podestu  ;  sometimes  one  for  each  province.  He 
was  chosen  by  the  people,  took  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  separate 
estates,  or,  if  Podesta-general,  to  the  federal  diet,  and  was 
generally  elected  for  a  limited  term,  although  sometimes  for 
life.  He  was  assisted  by  a  board  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
councillors.  The  deputies  to  the  general  congress  were  chosen 
by  popular  suffrage  in  Easter-week.  The  clergy  were  not 
recognized  as  a  political  estate. 

Thus,  in  those  lands  which  a  niggard  nature  had  apparently 
condemned  to  perpetual  poverty  and  obscurity,  the  principle  of 
reasonable  human  freedom,  without  which  there  is  no  national 
prosperity  or  glory  worth  contending  for,  was  taking  deepest 
and  strongest  root.  Already  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  Friesland  was  a  republic,  except  in  name  ;  Holland, 


REPUBLICAN    RUDIMENTS.  39 

Flanders,  Brabant,  had  acquired  a  large  share  of  self-govern- 
ment. The  powerful  commonwealth,  at  a  later  period  to  be 
evolved  out  of  the  great  combat  between  centralized  tyranny 
and  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  was  already  fore- 
shadowed. The  elements,  of  which  that  important  republic 
was  to  be  compounded,  were  germinating  for  centuries.  Love 
of  freedom,  readiness  to  strike  and  bleed  at  any  moment  in 
her  cause,  manly  resistance  to  despotism,  however  over 
shadowing,  were  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  race  in  all 
regions  or  periods,  whether  among  Frisian  swamps,  Dutch 
dykes,  the  gentle  hills  and  dales  of  England,  or  the  pathless 
forests  of  America.  Doubtless,  the  history  of  human  liberty 
in  Holland  and  Flanders,  as  every  where  else  upon  earth  where 
there  has  been  such  a  history,  unrolls  many  scenes  of  turbulence 
and  bloodshed  ;  although  these  features  have  been  exaggerated 
by  prejudiced  historians.  Still,  if  there  were  luxury  and  inso- 
lence, sedition  and  uproar,  at  any  rate  there  was  life.  Those 
violent  little  commonwealths  had  blood  in  their  veins.  They 
were  compact  of  proud,  self-helping,  muscular  vigor.  The 
most  sanguinary  tumults  which  they  ever  enacted  in  the  face 
of  day,  were  better  than  the  order  and  silence  born  of  the 
midnight  darkness  of  despotism.  That  very  unruliness  was 
educating  the  people  for  their  future  work.  Those  merchants, 
manufacturers,  country  squires,  and  hard-fighting  barons,  all 
pent  up  in  a  narrow  corner  of  the  earth,  quarrelling  with  each 
other  and  with  all  the  world  for  centuries,  were  keeping  alive 
a  national  pugnacity  of  character,  for  which  there  was  to  be 
a  heavy  demand  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  without  which 
the  fatherland  had  perhaps  succumbed  in  the  most  unequal 
conflict  ever  waged  by  man  against  oppression. 

To  sketch  the  special  history  of  even  the  leading  Nether- 
land  provinces,  during  the  five  centuries  which  we  have 
thus  rapidly  sought  to  characterize,  is  foreign  to  our  purpose. 
By  holding  the  clue  of  Holland's  history,  the  general  maze  of 
dynastic  transformations  throughout  the  country  may,  how- 
ever, be  swiftly  threaded.  From  the  time  of  the  first  Dirk  to 
the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  there  were  nearly  four 


40  THE    RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC. 

hundred  years  of  unbroken  male  descent,  a  long  line  of  Dirks 
and  Florences.  This  iron-handed,  hot-headed,  adventurous 
race,  placed  as  sovereign  upon  its  little  sandy  hook,  making 
ferocious  exertions  to  swell  into  larger  consequence,  conquering 
a  mile  or  two  of  morass  or  barren  furze,  after  harder  blows  and 
bloodier  encounters  than  might  have  established  an  empire 
under  more  favorable  circumstances,  at  last  dies  out.  The 
countship  falls  to  the  house  of  Avennes,  Counts  of  Hainault. 
Holland,  together  with  Zeland,  which  it  had  annexed,  is  thus 
joined  to  the  province  of  Hainault.  At  the  end  of  another 
half  century  the  Hainault  line  expires.  William  the  Fourth 
died  childless  in  1355.  His  death  is  the  signal  for  the  out- 
break of  an  almost  interminable  series  of  civil  commotions. 
Those  two  great  parties,  known  by  the  uncouth  names  of 
Hook  and  Kabbeljaw,  come  into  existence,  dividing  noble 
against  noble,  city  against  city,  father  against  son,  for  some 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  without  foundation  upon  any  abstract 
or  intelligible  principle.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  that, 
in  the  sequel,  and  as  a  general  rule,  the  Kabbeljaw,  or  cod-fish 
party,  represented  the  city  or  municipal  faction,  while  the 
Hooks  (fish-hooks),  that  were  to  catch  and  control  them,  were 
the  nobles  ;  iron  and  audacity  against  brute  number  and 
weight. 

Duke  William  of  Bavaria,  sister's  son  of  William  the 
Fourth,  gets  himself  established  in  1354.  He  is  succeeded  by 
his  brother  Albert  ;  Albert  by  his  son  William.  William, 
who  had  married  Margaret  of  Burgundy,  daughter  of  Philip 
the  Bold,  dies  in  1417.  The  goodly  heritage  of  these  three 
Netherland  provinces  descends  to  his  daughter  Jacqueline,  a 
damsel  of  seventeen.  Little  need  to  trace  the  career  of  the 
fair  and  ill-starred  Jacqueline.  Few  chapters  of  historical 
romance  have  drawn  more  frequent  tears.  The  favorite  heroine 
of  ballad  and  drama,  to  Netherlander  she  is  endued  with  the 
palpable  form  and  perpetual  existence  of  the  Iphigenias,  Mary 
Stuarts,  Joans  of  Arc,  or  other  consecrated  individualities. 
Exhausted  and  broken-hearted,  after  thirteen  years  of  conflict 
with  her  own  kinsmen,  consoled  for  the  cowardice  and  bru- 


THE    BURGUNDIAN   DYNASTY.  41 

tality  of  three  husbands  by  the  gentle  and  knightly  spirit  of 
the  fourth,  dispossessed  of  her  father's  broad  domains,  degraded 
from  the  rank  of  sovereign  to  be  lady  forester  of  her  own 
provinces  by  her  cousin,  the  bad  Duke  of  Burgundy,  Philip 
surnamed  "  the  Good,"  she  dies  at  last,  and  the  good  cousin 
takes  undisputed  dominion  of  the  land.     (1437.) 

VII. 

The  five  centuries  of  isolation  are  at  end.  The  many 
obscure  streams  of  Netherland  history  are  merged  in  one  broad 
current.  Burgundy  has  absorbed  all  the  provinces  which, 
once  more,  are  forced  to  recognize  a  single  master.  A  century 
and  a  few  years  more  succeed,  during  which  this  house  and 
its  heirs  are  undisputed  sovereigns  of  the  soil. 

Philip  the  Good  had  already  acquired  the  principal  Nether- 
lands, before  dispossessing  Jacqueline.  He  had  inherited, 
beside  the  two  Burgundies,  the  counties  of  Flanders  and 
Artois.  He  had  purchased  the  county  of  Namur,  and  had 
usurped  the  duchy  of  Brabant,  to  which  the  duchy  of 
Limburg,  the  marquisate  of  Antwerp,  and  the  barony  of 
Mechlin,  had  already  been  annexed.  By  his  assumption  of 
Jacqueline's  dominions,  he  was  now  lord  of  Holland,  Zeland, 
and  Hainault,  and  titular  master  of  Friesland.  He  acquired 
Luxemburg  a  few  years  later. 

Lord  of  so  many  opulent  cities  and  fruitful  provinces,  he 
felt  himself  equal  to  the  kings  of  Europe.  Upon  his  marriage 
with  Isabella  of  Portugal,  he  founded,  at  Bruges,  the  celebrated 
order  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  What  could  be  more  practical  or 
more  devout  than  the  conception  ?  Did  not  the  Lamb  of  God, 
suspended  at  each  knightly  breast,  symbolize  at  once  the 
woollen  fabrics  to  which  so  much  of  Flemish  wealth  and 
Burgundian  power  was  owing,  and  the  gentle  humility  of 
Christ,  which  was  ever  to  characterize  the  order  ?  Twenty- 
five  was  the  limited  number,  including  Philip  himself,  as  grand 
master.  The  chevaliers  were  emperors,  kings,  princes,  and 
the  most  illustrious  nobles  of  Christendom  ;  while  a  leading 
provision,  at  the  outset,  forbade  the  brethren,  crowned  heads 


42  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

excepted,  to  accept  or  retain  the  companionship  of  any  other 
order. 

The  accession  of  so  potent  and  ambitious  a  prince  as  the 
good  Philip  boded  evil  to  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the  Nether- 
lands. The  spirit  of  liberty  seemed  to  have  been  typified  in  the 
fair  form  of  the  benignant  and  unhappy  Jacqueline,  and  to  be 
buried  in  her  grave.  The  usurper,  who  had  crushed  her  out 
of  existence,  now  strode  forward  to  trample  upon  all  the 
laws  and  privileges  of  the  provinces  which  had  formed  her 
heritage. 

At  his  advent,  the  municipal  power  had  already  reached  an 
advanced  stage  of  development.  The  burgher  class  con- 
trolled the  government,  not  only  of  the  cities,  but  often  of  the 
provinces,  through  its  influence  in  the  estates.  Industry  and 
wealth  had  produced  their  natural  results.  The  supreme 
authority  of  the  sovereign  and  the  power  of  the  nobles  were 
balanced  by  the  municipal  principle  which  had  even  begun  to 
preponderate  over  both.  All  three  exercised  a  constant  and 
salutary  check  upon  each  other.  Commerce  had  converted 
slaves  into  freemen,  freemen  into  burghers,  and  the  burghers 
were  acquiring  daily,  a  larger  practical  hold  upon  the 
government.  The  town  councils  were  becoming  almost  om- 
nipotent. Although  with  an  oligarchical  tendency,  which 
at  a  later  period  was  to  be  more  fully  developed,  they  were 
now  composed  of  large  numbers  of  individuals,  who  had  raised 
themselves,  by  industry  and  intelligence,  out  of  the  popular 
masses.  There  was  an  unquestionably  republican  tone  to  the 
institutions.  Power,  actually,  if  not  nominally,  was  in  the 
hands  of  many  who  had  achieved  the  greatness  to  which  they 
had  not  been  born. 

The  assemblies  of  the  estates  were  rather  diplomatic  than 
representative.  They  consisted,  generally,  of  the  nobles  and 
of  the  deputations  from  the  cities.  In  Holland,  the  clergy 
had  neither  influence  nor  seats  in  the  parliamentary  body. 
Measures  were  proposed  by  the  stadholder,  who  represented 
the  sovereign.  A  request,  for  example,  of  pecuniary  accommo- 
dation, was  made  by  that  functionary  or  by  the  count  himself 


PEOGKESS   OF   LIBERTY    CHECKED.  43 

in  person.  The  nobles  then  voted  upon  the  demand,  generally 
as  one  body,  but  sometimes  by  heads.  The  measure  was  then 
laid  before  the  burghers.  If  they  had  been  specially  com- 
missioned to  act  upon  the  matter,  they  voted,  each  city  as  a 
city,  not  each  deputy,  individually.  If  they  had  received  no 
instructions,  they  took  back  the  proposition  to  lay  before  the 
councils  of  their  respective  cities,  in  order  to  return  a  decision 
at  an  adjourned  session,  or  at  a  subsequent  diet.  It  will  be 
seen,  therefore,  that  the  principle  of  national,  popular  repre- 
sentation was  but  imperfectly  developed.  The  municipal 
deputies  acted  only  under  instructions.  Each  city  was  a  little 
independent  state,  suspicious  not  only  of  the  sovereign  and 
nobles,  but  of  its  sister  cities.  This  mutual  jealousy  hastened 
the  general  humiliation  now  impending.  The  centre  of  the 
system  waxing  daily  more  powerful,  it  more  easily  unsphered 
these  feebler  and  mutually  repulsive  bodies. 

Philip's  first  step,  upon  assuming  the  government,  was  to 
issue  a  declaration,  through  the  council  of  Holland,  that  the 
privileges  and  constitutions,  which  he  had  sworn  to  as 
Ruward,  or  guardian,  during  the  period  in  which  Jacqueline 
had  still  retained  a  nominal  sovereignty,  were  to  be  considered 
null  and  void,  unless  afterwards  confirmed  by  him  as  count. 
At  a  single  blow  he  thus  severed  the  whole  knot  of  pledges, 
oaths  and  other  political  complications,  by  which  he  had 
entangled  himself  during  his  cautious  advance  to  power.  He 
was  now  untrammelled  again.  As  the  conscience  of  the 
smooth  usurper  was,  thenceforth,  the  measure  of  provincial 
liberty,  his  subjects  soon  found  it  meted  to  them  more  sparingly 
than  they  wished.  From  this  point,  then,  through  the  Bur- 
gundian  period,  and  until  the  rise  of  the  republic,  the  liberty 
of  the  Netherlands,  notwithstanding  several  brilliant  but  brief 
luminations,  occurring  at  irregular  intervals,  seemed  to  remain 
in  almost  perpetual  eclipse. 

The  material  prosperity  of  the  country  had,  however,  vastly 
increased.  The  fisheries  of  Holland  had  become  of  enormous 
importance.  The  invention  of  the  humble  Beukelzoon  of 
Biervliet,  had  expanded  into  a  mine  of  wealth.     The  fisheries, 


44  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

too,  were  most  useful  as  a  nursery  of  seamen,  and  were  already 
indicating  Holland's  future  naval  supremacy.  The  fishermen 
were  the  militia  of  the  ocean,  their  prowess  attested  in  the 
war  with  the  Hanseatic  cities,  which  the  provinces  of  Holland 
and  Zeland,  in  Philip's  name,  but  by  their  own  unassisted 
exertions,  carried  on  triumphantly  at  this  epoch.  Then  came 
into  existence  that  race  of  cool  and  daring  mariners,  who,  in 
after  times,  were  to  make  the  Dutch  name  illustrious  through- 
out the  world,  the  men,  whose  fierce  descendants,  the  "  beg- 
gars of  the  sea,"  were  to  make  the  Spanish  empire  tremble, 
the  men,  whose  later  successors  swept  the  seas  with  brooms 
at  the  mast-head,  and  whose  ocean-battles  with  their  equally 
fearless  English  brethren  often  lasted  four  uninterrupted  days 
and  nights. 

The  main  strength  of  Holland  was  derived  from  the  ocean, 
from  whose  destructive  grasp  she  had  wrested  herself,  but  in 
whose  friendly  embrace  she  remained.  She  was  already 
placing  securely  the  foundations  of  commercial  wealth  and 
civil  liberty  upon  those  shifting  quicksands  which  the  Roman 
doubted  whether  to  call  land  or  water.  Her  submerged 
deformity,  as  she  floated,  mermaid-like,  upon  the  waves  was  to 
be  forgotten  in  her  material  splendor.  Enriched  with  the 
spoils  of  every  clime,  crowned  with  the  divine  jewels  of  science 
and  art,  she  was,  one  day,  to  sing  a  siren  song  of  freedom, 
luxury,  and  power. 

As  with  Holland,  so  with  Flanders,  Brabant,  and  the  other 
leading  provinces.  Industry  and  wealth,  agriculture,  com- 
merce, and  manufactures,  were  constantly  augmenting.  The 
natural  sources  of  power  were  full  to  overflowing,  while  the 
hand  of  despotism  was  deliberately  sealing  the  fountain. 

For  the  house  of  Burgundy  was  rapidly  culminating  and  as 
rapidly  curtailing  the  political  privileges  of  the  Netherlands. 
The  contest  was,  at  first,  favorable  to  the  cause  of  arbitrary 
power ;  but  little  seeds  were  silently  germinating,  which,  in 
the  progress  of  their  gigantic  development,  were,  one  day,  to 
undermine  the  foundations  of  Tyranny  and  to  overshadow  the 
world.     The  early  progress  of  the  religious  reformation  in  the 


THE    GOLDEN    FLEECE    AND    LORENZ    COSTER.  45 

Netherlands  will  be  outlined  in  a  separate  chapter.  Another 
great  principle  was  likewise  at  work  at  this  period.  At  the 
very  epoch  when  the  greatness  of  Burgundy  was  most  swiftly 
ripening,  another  weapon  was  secretly  forging,  more  potent  in 
the  great  struggle  for  freedom  than  any  which  the  wit  or  hand 
of  man  has  ever  devised  or  wielded.  When  Philip  the  Good, 
in  the  full  blaze  of  his  power,  and  flushed  with  the  triumphs 
of  territorial  aggrandizement,  was  instituting  at  Bruges  the 
order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  "  to  the  glory  of  God,  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  of  the  holy  Andrew,  patron  saint  of  the 
Burgundian  family,"  and  enrolling  the  names  of  the  kings 
and  princes  who  were  to  be  honored  with  its  symbols,  at  that 
very  moment,  an  obscure  citizen  of  Harlem,  one  Lorenz 
Coster,  or  Lawrence  the  Sexton,  succeeded  in  printing  a  little 
grammar,  by  means  of  movable  types.  The  invention  cf 
printing  was  accomplished,  but  it  was  not  ushered  in  with  such 
a  blaze  of  glory  as  heralded  the  contemporaneous  erection  of 
the  Golden  Fleece.  The  humble  setter  of  types  did  not  deem 
emperors  and  princes  alone  worthy  his  companionship.  His 
invention  sent  no  thrill  of  admiration  throughout  Christendom; 
and  yet,  what  was  the  good  Philip  of  Burgundy,  with  his 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and  all  their  effulgent  trum- 
pery, in  the  eye  of  humanity  and  civilization,  compared  with 
the  poor  sexton  and  his  wooden  types  ?° 

Philip  died  in  February,  146T.  The  details  of  his  life  and 
career  do  not  belong  to  our  purpose.  The  practical  tendency 
of  his  government  was  to  repress  the  spirit  of  liberty,  while 
especial  privileges,  extensive  in  nature,  but  limited  in  time, 
were  frequently  granted  to  corporations.  Philip,  in  one  day, 
conferred  thirty  charters  upon  as  many  different  bodies  of 
citizens.     These  were,  however,  grants  of  monopoly  not  con- 


*  The  question  of  the  time  and  place  to  which  the  invention  of  printing 
should  bo  referred,  has  been  often  discussed.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  will 
ever  be  settled  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  Holland  and  Germany.  The  Dutch 
claim  that  movable  types  were  first  used  at  Harlem,  fixing  the  time  variously 
between  the  years  1423  and  1440.  The  first  and  very  faulty  editions  of  Lorenz 
are  religiously  preserved  at  Harlem. 


46  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

cessions  of  rights.  He  also  fixed  the  number  of  city  councils 
or  Yroedschappen  in  many  Netherland  cities,  giving  them  per- 
mission to  present  a  double  list  of  candidates  for  burgomasters 
and  judges,  from  which  he  himself  made  the  appointments. 
He  was  certainly  neither  a  good  nor  great  prince,  but  he  pos- 
sessed much  administrative  ability.  His  military  talents  were 
considerable,  and  he  was  successful  in  his  wars.  He  was  an 
adroit  dissembler,  a  practical  politician.  He  had  the  sense  to 
comprehend  that  the  power  of  a  prince,  however  absolute,  must 
depend  upon  the  prosperity  of  his  subjects.  He  taxed  severely 
the  wealth,  but  he  protected  the  commerce  and  the  manufac- 
tures of  Holland  and  Flanders.  He  encouraged  art,  science, 
and  literature.  The  brothers,  John  and  Hubert  Van  Eyck, 
were  attracted  by  his  generosity  to  Bruges,  where  they  painted 
many  pictures.  John  was  even  a  member  of  the  duke's 
council.  The  art  of  oil-painting  was  carried  to  great  per- 
fection by  Hubert's  scholar,  John  of  Bruges.  An  incredible 
number  of  painters,  of  greater  or  less  merit,  flourished  at  this 
epoch  in  the  Netherlands,  heralds  of  that  great  school,  which, 
at  a  subsequent  period,  was  to  astonish  the  world  with  brilliant 
colors  ;  profound  science,  startling  effects,  and  vigorous  repro- 
ductions of  Nature.  Authors,  too,  like  Olivier  de  la  Marche 
and  Philippe  de  Comines,  who,  in  the  words  of  the  latter, 
"  wrote,  not  for  the  amusement  of  brutes,  and  people  of  low 
degree,  but  for  princes  and  other  persons  of  quality,"  these 
and  other  writers,  with  aims  as  lofty,  flourished  at  the  court 
of  Burgundy,  and  were  rewarded  by  the  Duke  with  princely 
generosity.  Philip  remodelled  and  befriended  the  university 
of  Louvain.  He  founded  at  Brussels  the  Burgundian  library, 
which  became  celebrated  throughout  Europe.  He  levied 
largely,  spent  profusely,  but  was  yet  so  thrifty  a  housekeeper, 
as  to  leave  four  hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold,  a  vast 
amount  in  those  days,  besides  three  million  marks'  worth  of 
plate  and  furniture,  to  be  wasted  like  water  in  the  insane 
career  of  his  son. 

The  exploits  of  that  son  require  but  few  words  of  illustra- 
tion.    Hardly  a  chapter  of  European  history  or  romance  is 


CHARLES   THE    BOLD.  47 

more  familiar  to  the  world  than  the  one  which  records  the 
meteoric  course  of  Charles  the  Bold.  The  propriety  of  his 
title  was  never  doubtful.  No  prince  was  ever  bolder,  but  it  is 
certain  that  no  quality  could  be  less  desirable,  at  that  particular 
moment  in  the  history  of  his  house.  It  was  not  the  quality 
to  confirm  a  usurping  family  in  its  ill-gotten  possessions. 
Renewed  aggressions  upon  the  rights  of  others  justified 
retaliation  and  invited  attack.  Justice,  prudence,  firmness, 
wisdom  of  internal  administration  were  desirable  in  the  son  of 
Philip  and  the  rival  of  Louis.  These  attributes  the  gladiator 
lacked  entirely.  His  career  might  have  been  a  brilliant  one 
in  the  old  days  of  chivalry.  His  image  might  have  appeared 
as  imposing  as  the  romantic  forms  of  Baldwin  Bras  de  Fer  or 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  had  he  not  been  misplaced  in  history. 
Nevertheless,  he  imagined  himself  governed  by  a  profound 
policy.  He  had  one  dominant  idea,  to  make  Burgundy  a 
kingdom.  From  the  moment  when,  with  almost  the  first 
standing  army  known  to  history,  and  with  coffers  well  filled 
by  his  cautious  father's  economy,  he  threw  himself  into  the 
lists  against  the  crafty  Louis,  down  to  the  day  when  he  was 
found  dead,  naked,  deserted,  and  with  his  face  frozen  into  a 
pool  of  blood  and  water,  he  faithfully  pursued  this  thought. 
His  ducal  cap  was  to  be  exchanged  for  a  kingly  crown,  while 
all  the  provinces  which  lay  beneath  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
North  Sea,  and  between  France  and  Germany,  were  to  be 
united  under  his  sceptre.  The  Netherlands,  with  their  wealth, 
had  been  already  appropriated,  and  their  freedom  crushed. 
Another  land  of  liberty  remained  ;  physically,  the  reverse  of 
Holland,  but  stamped  with  the  same  courageous  nationality, 
the  same  ardent  love  of  human  rights.  Switzerland  was  to  be 
conquered.  Her  eternal  battlements  of  ice  and  granite  were  to 
constitute  the  great  bulwark  of  his  realm.  The  world  knows 
well  the  result  of  the  struggle  between  the  lord  of  so  many 
duchies  and  earldoms,  and  the  Alpine  mountaineers.  With  all 
his  boldness,  Charles  was  but  an  indifferent  soldier.  His  only 
merit  was  physical  courage.  He  imagined  himself  a  con- 
summate commander,  and,  in  conversation  with  his  jester,  was 


48  THE    KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

fond  of  comparing  himself  to  Hannibal.  "  We  are  getting 
well  Hannibalized  to-day,  my  lord,"  said  the  bitter  fool,  as 
they  rode  off  together  from  the  disastrous  defeat  of  Gransen. 
Well  "  Hannibalized"  he  was,  too,  at  Gransen,  at  Murten, 
and  at  Nancy.  He  followed  in  the  track  of  his  prototype 
only  to  the  base  of  the  mountains. 

As  a  conqueror,  he  was  signally  unsuccessful ;  as  a  politician, 
he  could  out-wit  none  but  himself  ;  it  was  only  as  a  tyrant 
within  his  own  ground,  that  he  could  sustain  the  character 
which  he  chose  to  enact.  He  lost  the  crown,  which  he  might 
have  secured,  because  he  thought  the  emperor's  son  unworthy 
the  heiress  of  Burgundy  ;  and  yet,  after  his  father's  death,  her 
marriage  with  that  very  Maximilian  alone  secured  the  posses- 
sion of  her  paternal  inheritance.  Unsuccessful  in  schemes  of 
conquest,  and  in  political  intrigue,  as  an  oppressor  of  the 
Netherlands,  he  nearly  carried  out  his  plans.  Those  provinces 
he  regarded  merely  as  a  bank  to  draw  upon.  His  immediate 
intercourse  with  the  country  was  confined  to  the  extortion  of 
vast  requests.  These  were  granted  with  ever-increasing  re- 
luctance, by  the  estates.  The  new  taxes  and  excises,  which 
the  sanguinary  extravagance  of  the  duke  rendered  necessary, 
could  seldom  be  collected  in  the  various  cities  without  tumults, 
sedition,  and  bloodshed.  Few  princes  were  ever  a  greater 
curse  to  the  people  whom  they  were  allowed  to  hold  as  prop- 
erty. He  nearly  succeeded  in  establishing  a  centralized 
despotism  upon  the  ruins  of  the  provincial  institutions.  His 
sudden  death  alone  deferred  the  catastrophe.  His  removal  of 
the  supreme  court  of  Holland  from  the  Hague  to  Mechlin, 
and  his  maintenance  of  a  standing  army,  were  the  two  great 
measures  by  which  he  prostrated  the  Netherlands.  The  tribunal 
had  been  remodelled  by  his  father  ;  the  expanded  authority 
which  Philip  had  given  to  a  bench  of  judges  dependent  upon 
himself,  was  an  infraction  of  the  rights  of  Holland.  The 
court,  however,  still  held  its  sessions  in  the  country;  and  the 
sacred  privilege — de  non  evocando — the  right  of  every  Hollander 
to  be  tried  in  his  own  land,  was,  at  least,  retained.  Charles 
threw  off  the  mask ;  he  proclaimed  that  this  council — com- 


CHARLES   SUCCEEDED    BY   HIS   DAUGHTER.  49 

posed  of  his  creatures,  holding  office  at  his  pleasure — should 
have  supreme  jurisdiction  over  all  the  charters  of  the  provinces; 
that  it  was  to  follow  his  person,  and  derive  all  authority  from 
his  will.  The  usual  seat  of  the  court  he  transferred  to  Mechlin. 
It  will  be  seen,  in  the  sequel,  that  the  attempt,  under  Philip  the 
Second,  to  enforce  its  supreme  authority  was  a  collateral  cause 
of  the  great  revolution  of  the  Netherlands. 

Charles,  like  his  father,  administered  the  country  by  stad- 
holders.  From  the  condition  of  flourishing  self-ruled  little 
republics,  which  they  had,  for  a  moment,  almost  attained,  they 
became  departments  of  an  ill-assorted,  ill-conditioned,  ill- 
governed  realm,  which  was  neither  commonwealth  nor  empire, 
neither  kingdom  nor  duchy  ;  and  which  had  no  homoge- 
neousness  of  population,  no  affection  between  ruler  and  peo- 
ple, small  sympathies  of  lineage  or  of  language. 

His  triumphs  were  but  few,  his  fall  ignominious.  His 
father's  treasure  was  squandered,  the  curse  of  a  standing  army 
fixed  upon  his  people,  the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the 
country  paralyzed  by  his  extortions,  and  he  accomplished 
nothing.  He  lost  his  life  in  the  forty-fourth  year  of  his  age 
(1477),  leaving  all  the  provinces,  duchies,  and  lordships,  which 
formed  the  miscellaneous  realm  of  Burgundy,  to  his  only 
child,  the  Lady  Mary.  Thus  already  the  countries  which 
Philip  had  wrested  from  the  feeble  hand  of  Jacqueline,  had 
fallen  to  another  female.  Philip's  own  granddaughter,  as 
young,  fair,  and  unprotected  as  Jacqueline,  was  now  sole  mis- 
tress of  those  broad  domains. 

VIII. 

A  crisis,  both  for  Burgundy  and  the  Netherlands,  succeeds. 
Within  the  provinces  there  is  an  elastic  rebound,  as  soon  as 
the  pressure  is  removed  from  them  by  the  tyrant's  death.  A 
sudden  spasm  of  liberty  gives  the  whole  people  gigantic 
strength.  In  an  instant  they  recover  all,  and  more  than  all, 
the  rights  which  they  had  lost.  The  cities  of  Holland,  Flanders, 
and  other  provinces  call  a  convention  at  Ghent.  Laying 
aside  their  musty  feuds,  men  of  all  parties — Hooks  and  Kab- 

VOL.    I.  4 


50  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

beljaws,  patricians  and  people,  move  forward  in  phalanx  to  re- 
cover their  national  constitutions.  On  the  other  hand,  Louis 
the  Eleventh  seizes  Burgundy,  claiming  the  territory  for  his 
crown,  the  heiress  for  his  son.  The  situation  is  critical  for 
the  Lady  Mary.  As  usual  in  such  cases,  appeals  are  made  to 
the  faithful  commons.  A  prodigality  of  oaths  and  pledges  is 
showered  upon  the  people,  that  their  loyalty  may  be  refreshed 
and  grow  green.  The  congress  meets  at  Ghent.  The  Lady 
Mary  professes  much,  hut  she  will  keep  her  vow.  The  depu- 
ties are  called  upon  to  rally  the  country  around  the  duchess,  and 
to  resist  the  fraud  and  force  of  Louis.  The  congress  is  willing 
to  maintain  the  cause  of  its  young  mistress.  The  members 
declare,  at  the  same  time,  very  roundly,  "  that  the  provinces 
have  been  much  impoverished  and  oppressed  by  the  enormous 
taxation  imposed  upon  them  by  the  ruinous  wars  waged  by 
Duke  Charles  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  life."  They 
rather  require  "  to  be  relieved  than  additionally  encumbered." 
They  add  that,  "  for  many  years  past,  there  has  been  a  con- 
stant violation  of  the  provincial  and  municipal  charters,  and 
that  they  should  be  happy  to  see  them  restored." 

The  result  of  the  deliberations  is  the  formal  grant  by 
Duchess  Mary  of  the  "  Groot  Privilegie,"  or  Great  Privilege, 
the  Magna  Charta  of  Holland.  Although  this  instrument 
was  afterwards  violated,  and  indeed  abolished,  it  became  the 
foundation  of  the  republic.  It  was  a  recapitulation  and  recog- 
nition of  ancient  rights,  not  an  acquisition  of  new  privileges. 
It  was  a  restoration,  not  a  revolution.  Its  principal  points 
deserve  attention  from  those  interested  in  the  political  pro- 
gress of  mankind. 

"  The  duchess  shall  not  marry  without  consent  of  the  estates 
of  her  provinces.  All  offices  in  her  gift  shall  be  conferred  on 
natives  only.  No  man  shall  fill  two  offices.  No  office  shall 
be  farmed.  The  '  Great  Council  and  Supreme  Court  of  Hol- 
land' is  re-established.  Causes  shall  be  brought  before  it  on 
appeal  from  the  ordinary  courts.  It  shall  have  no  original 
jurisdiction  of  matters  within  the  cognizance  of  the  provincial 
and  municipal  tribunals.  The  estates  and  cities  are  guaranteed 


THE    u  GREAT   PRIVILEGE."  51 

in  their  right  not  to  be  summoned  to  justice  beyond  the 
limits  of  their  territory.  The  cities,  in  common  with  all  the 
provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  may  hold  diets  as  often  and  at 
such  "places  as  they  choose.  No  new  taxes  shall  be  imposed  but  by 
consent  of  the  provincial  estates.  Neither  the  duchess  nor  her 
descendants  shall  begin  either  an  offensive  or  defensive  tear  with- 
out consent  of  the  estates.  In  case  a  war  be  illegally  under- 
taken, the  estates  are  not  bound  to  contribute  to  its  mainte- 
nance. In  all  public  and  legal  documents,  the  Netherland 
language  shall  be  employed.  The  commands  of  the  duchess 
shall  be  invalid,  if  conflicting  with  the  privileges  of  a  city. 
The  seat  of  the  Supreme  Council  is  transferred  from  Mechlin 
to  the  Hague.  No  money  shall  be  coined,  nor  its  value  raised 
or  lowered,  but  by  consent  of  the  estates.  Cities  are  not  to  be 
compelled  to  contribute  to  requests  which  they  have  not  voted. 
The  sovereign  shall  come  in  person  before  the  estates,  to  make 
his  request  for  supplies." 

Here  was  good  work.  The  land  was  rescued  at  a  blow  from 
the  helpless  condition  to  which  it  had  been  reduced.  This 
summary  annihilation  of  all  the  despotic  arrangements  of 
Charles  was  enough  to  raise  him  from  his  tomb.  The  law,  the 
sword,  the  purse,  were  all  taken  from  the  hand  of  the 
sovereign  and  placed  within  the  control  of  parliament. 
Such  sweeping  reforms,  if  maintained,  would  restore  health 
to  the  body  politic.  They  gave,  moreover,  an  earnest  of 
what  was  one  day  to  arrive.  Certainly,  for  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  "  Great  Privilege"  was  a  reasonably  liberal 
constitution.  "Where  else  upon  earth,  at  that  day,  was  there 
half  so  much  liberty  as  was  thus  guaranteed  ?  The  con- 
gress of  the  Netherlands,  according  to  their  Magna  Charta, 
had  power  to  levy  all  taxes,  to  regulate  commerce  and  manu- 
factures, to  declare  war,  to  coin  money,  to  raise  armies  and 
navies.  The  executive  was  required  to  ask  for  money  in  per- 
son, could  appoint  only  natives  to  office,  recognized  the  right 
of  disobedience  in  his  subjects,  if  his  commands  should  conflict 
with  law,  and  acknowledged  himself  bound  by  decisions  of 
courts  of  justice.     The  cities  appointed  their  own  magistrates, 


52  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

held  diets  at  their  own  pleasure,  made  their  local  by-laws  and 
saw  to  their  execution.  Original  cognizance  of  legal  matters 
belonged  to  the  municipal  courts,  appellate  jurisdiction  to  the 
supreme  tribunal,  in  which  the  judges  were  appointed  by  the 
sovereign.  The  liberty  of  the  citizen  against  arbitrary  im- 
prisonment was  amply  provided  for.  The  jus  de  non  evocando, 
the  habeas  corpus  of  Holland,  was  re-established. 

Truly,  here  was  a  fundamental  law  which  largely,  roundly, 
and  reasonably  recognized  the  existence  of  a  people  with 
hearts,  heads,  and  hands  of  their  own.  It  was  a  vast  step  in 
advance  of  natural  servitude,  the  dogma  of  the  dark  ages.  It 
was  a  noble  and  temperate  vindication  of  natural  liberty,  the 
doctrine  of  more  enlightened  days.  To  no  people  in  the  world 
more  than  to  the  stout  burghers  of  Flanders  and  Holland 
belongs  the  honor  of  having  battled  audaciously  and  peren- 
nially in  behalf  of  human  rights. 

Similar  privileges  to  the  great  charter  of  Holland  are 
granted  to  many  other  provinces  ;  especially  to  Flanders,  ever 
ready  to  stand  forward  in  fierce  vindication  of  freedom.  For 
a  season  all  is  peace  and  joy  ;  but  the  duchess  is  young,  weak, 
and  a  woman.  There  is  no  lack  of  intriguing  politicians,  re- 
actionary councillors.  There  is  a  cunning  old  king  in  the 
distance,  lying  in  wait,  seeking  what  he  can  devour.  A  mis- 
sion goes  from  the  estates  to  France.  The  well-known  tragedy 
of  Imbrecourt  and  Hugonet  occurs.  Envoys  from  the  states, 
they  dare  to  accept  secret  instructions  from  the  duchess  to 
enter  into  private  negotiations  with  the  French  monarch, 
against  their  colleagues — against  the  great  charter — against 
their  country.  Sly  Louis  betrays  them,  thinking  that  policy 
the  more  expedient.  They  are  seized  in  Ghent,  rapidly  tried, 
and  as  rapidly  beheaded  by  the  enraged  burghers.  All  the 
entreaties  of  the  Lady  Mary,  who,  dressed  in  mourning  gar- 
ments, with  dishevelled  hair,  unloosed  girdle,  and  streaming 
eyes,  appears  at  the  town-house  and  afterwards  in  the  market 
place,  humbly  to  intercede  for  her  servants,  are  fruitless.  There 
is  no  help  for  the  juggling  diplomatists.  The  punishment  was 
sharp.     Was  it  more  severe  and  sudden  than  that  which  be- 


MARRIAGE   AND    DEATH    OF    MARY.  53 

trayed  inonarchs  usually  inflict  ?  Would  the  Flemings,  at 
that  critical  moment,  have  deserved  their  freedom  had  they 
not  taken  swift  and  signal  vengeance  for  this  first  infraction 
of  their  newly  recognized  rights  ?  Had  it  not  been  weakness 
to  spare  the  traitors  who  had  thus  stained  the  childhood  of  the 
national  joy  at  liberty  regained  ? 

IX. 

Another  step,  and  a  wide  one,  into  the  great  stream  of 
European  history.  The  Lady  Mary  espouses  the  Archduke 
Maximilian.  The  Netherlands  are  about  to  become  Habsburg 
property.  The  Ghenters  reject  the  pretensions  of  the  dauphin, 
and  select  for  husband  of  their  duchess  the  very  man  whom 
her  father  had  so  stupidly  rejected.  It  had  been  a  wiser 
choice  for  Charles  the  Bold  than  for  the  Netherlander.  The 
marriage  takes  place  on  the  18th  of  August,  1477.  Mary  of 
Burgundy  passes  from  the  guardianship  of  Ghent  burghers 
into  that  of  the  emperor's  son.  The  crafty  husband  allies 
himself  with  the  city  party,  feeling  where  the  strength  lies. 
He  knows  that  the  voracious  Kabbeljaws  have  at  last  swal- 
lowed the  Hooks,  and  run  away  with  them.  Promising  him- 
self future  rights  of  reconsideration,  he  is  liberal  in  promises 
to  the  municipal  party.  In  the  mean  time  he  is  governor  and 
guardian  of  his  wife  and  her  provinces.  His  children  are  to 
inherit  the  Netherlands  and  all  that  therein  is.  What  can  be 
more  consistent  than  laws  of  descent,  regulated  by  right 
divine  ?  At  the  beginning  of  the  century,  good  Philip  dis- 
possesses Jacqueline,  because  females  can  not  inherit.  At  its 
close,  his  granddaughter  succeeds  to  the  property,  and  trans- 
mits it  to  her  children.  Pope  and  emperor  maintain  both 
positions  with  equal  logic.  The  policy  and  promptness  of 
Maximilian  are  as  effective  as  the  force  and  fraud  of  Philip. 

The  Lady  Mary  falls  from  her  horse  and  dies.  Her  son, 
Philip,  four  years  of  age,  is  recognized  as  successor.  Thus  the 
house  of  Burgundy  is  followed  by  that  of  Austria,  the  fifth 
and  last  family  which  governed  Holland,  previously  to  the 
erection  of  the  republic.      Maximilian  is  recognized  by  the 


54  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

provinces  as  governor  and  guardian,  during  the  minority  of 
his  children.  Flanders  alone  refuses.  The  burghers,  ever 
prompt  in  action,  take  personal  possession  of  the  child  Pliilip, 
and  cany  on  the  government  in  his  name.  A  commission  of 
citizens  and  nobles  thus  maintain  their  authority  against 
Maximilian  for  several  years.  In  1488,  the  archduke,  now 
King  of  the  Romans,  with  a  small  force  of  cavalry,  at- 
tempts to  take  the  city  of  Bruges,  but  the  result  is  a  mor- 
tifying one  to  the  Roman  king.  The  citizens  of  Bruges  take 
him.  Maximilian,  with  several  councillors,  is  kept  a  prisoner 
in  a  house  on  the  market-place.  The  magistrates  are  all 
changed,  the  affairs  of  government  conducted  in  the  name  of 
the  young  Philip  alone.  Meantime,  the  estates  of  the  other 
Netherlands  assemble  at  Ghent  ;  anxious,  unfortunately,  not 
for  the  national  liberty,  but  for  that  of  the  Roman  king, 
Already  Holland,  torn  again  by  civil  feuds,  and  blinded  by  the 
artifices  of  Maximilian,  has  deserted,  for  a  season,  the  great 
cause  to  which  Flanders  has  remained  so  true.  At  last,  a  treaty 
is  made  between  the  archduke  and  the  Flemings.  Maximilian 
is  to  be  regent  of  the  other  provinces  ;  Philip,  under  guardian- 
ship of  a  council,  is  to  govern  Flanders.  Moreover,  a  congress 
of  all  the  provinces  is  to  be  summoned  annually,  to  provide 
for  the  general  welfare.  Maximilian  signs  and  swears  to  the 
treaty  on  the  16th  May,  1488.  He  swears,  also,  to  dismiss  aU 
foreign  troops  within  four  days.  Giving  hostages  for  his 
fidelity,  he  is  set  at  liberty.  What  are  oaths  and  hostages 
when  prerogative,  and  the  people  are  contending  ?  Emperor 
Frederic  sends  to  his  son  an  army  under  the  Duke  of  Saxony. 
The  oaths  are  broken,  the  hostages  left  to  their  fate.  The 
struggle  lasts  a  year,  but,  at  the  end  of  it,  the  Flemings  are 
subdued.  What  could  a  single  province  effect,  when  its  sister 
states,  even  liberty-loving  Holland,  had  basely  abandoned  the 
common  cause  ?  A  new  treaty  is  made,  (Oct.,  1489).  Maxi- 
milian obtains  uncontrolled  guardianship  of  his  son,  absolute 
dominion  over  Flanders  and  the  other  provinces.  The  insolent 
burghers  are  severely  punished  for  remembering  that  they  had 
been  freemen.     The  magistrates  of  Ghent,  Bruges,  and  Ypres, 


POLICY   OF   MAXIMILIAN.  55 

in  black  garments,  ungirdled,  bare-headed,  and  kneeling,  are 
compelled  to  implore  the  despot's  forgiveness,  and  to  pay  three 
hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold  as  its  price.  After  this, 
for  a  brief  season,  order  reigns  in  Flanders. 

The  course  of  Maximilian  had  been  stealthy,  but  decided. 
Allying  himself  with  the  city  party,  he  had  crushed  the  nobles. 
The  power  thus  obtained,  he  then  turned  against  the  burghers. 
Step  by  step  hs  had  trampled  out  the  liberties  which  his  wife 
and  himself  had  sworn  to  protect.  He  had  spurned  the 
authority  of  the  "  Great  Privilege,"  and  all  other  charters. 
Burgomasters  and  other  citizens  had  been  beheaded  in  great 
numbers  for  appealing  to  their  statutes  against  the  edicts  of 
the  regent,  for  voting  in  favor  of  a  general  congress  accord- 
ing to  the  unquestionable  law.  He  had  proclaimed  that  all 
landed  estates  should,  in  lack  of  heirs  male,  escheat  to  his  own 
exchequer.  He  had  debased  the  coin  of  the  country,  and 
thereby  authorized  unlimited  swindling  on  the  part  of  all  his 
agents,  from  stadholders  down  to  the  meanest  official.  If 
such  oppression  and  knavery  did  not  justify  the  resistance  of 
the  Flemings  to  the  guardianship  of  Maximilian,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  any  reasonable  course  in  political  affairs  save 
abject  submission  to  authority. 

In  1493,  Maximilian  succeeds  to  the  imperial  throne,  at 
the  death  of  his  father.  In  the  following  year  his  son,  Philip 
the  Fair,  now  seventeen  years  of  age,  receives  the  homage  of 
the  different  states  of  the  Netherlands.  He  swears  to  main- 
tain only  the  privileges  granted  by  Philip  and  Charles  of 
Burgundy,  or  their  ancestors,  proclaiming  null  and  void  all 
those  which  might  have  been  acquired  since  the  death  of 
Charles.  Holland,  Zeland,  and  the  other  provinces  accept 
him  upon  these  conditions,  thus  ignominiously,  and  without 
a  struggle,  relinquishing  the  Great  Privilege,  and  all  similar 
charters. 

Friesland  is,  for  a  brief  season,  politically  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  country.  Harassed  and  exhausted  by  centuries 
of  warfare,  foreign  and  domestic,  the  free  Frisians,  at  the 
suggestion  or  command  of  Emperor  Maximilian,  elect  the 


56  THE   KISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

Duke  of  Saxony  as  their  Podestu,  The  sovereign  prince, 
naturally  proving  a  chief  magistrate  far  from  democratic,  gets 
himself  acknowledged,  or  submitted  to,  soon  afterwards,  as 
legitimate  sovereign  of  Friesland.  Seventeen  years  afterward 
Saxony  sells  the  sovereignty  to  the  Austrian  house  for  350,000 
crowns.  This  little  country,  whose  statutes  proclaimed  her  to 
be  "free  as  the  wind,  as  long  as  it  blew,"  whose  institutions 
Charlemagne  had  honored  and  left  unmolested,  who  had 
freed  herself  with  ready  poniard  from  Norman  tyranny,  who 
never  bowed  her  neck  to  feudal  chieftain,  nor  to  the  papal 
yoke,  now  driven  to  madness  and  suicide  by  the  dissensions  of 
her  wild  children,  forfeits  at  last  her  independent  existence. 
All  the  provinces  are  thus  united  in  a  common  servitude,  and 
regret,  too  late,  their  supineness  at  a  moment  when  their 
liberties  might  yet  have  been  vindicated.  Their  ancient  and 
cherished  charters,  which  their  bold  ancestors  had  earned  with 
the  sweat  of  their  brows  and  the  blood  of  their  hearts,  are  at 
the  mercy  of  an  autocrat,  and  liable  to  bo  superseded  by  his 
edicts. 

In  149G,  the  momentous  marriage  of  Philip  the  Fair  with 
Joanna,  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Castile  and 
Aragon,  is  solemnized.  Of  this  union,  in  the  first  year  of  the 
century,  is  born  the  second  Charlemagne,  who  is  to  unite 
Spain  and  the  Netherlands,  together  with  so  many  vast  and 
distant  realms,  under  a  single  sceptre.  Six  years  afterwards 
(Sept.  25,  1506),  Philip  dies  at  Burgos.  A  handsome  profli- 
gate, devoted  to  his  pleasures,  and  leaving  the  cares  of  state 
to  his  ministers,  Philip,  "  croit-conseil,"  is  the  bridge  over 
which  the  house  of  Habsburg  passes  to  almost  universal 
monarchy,  but,  in  himself,  is  nothing. 

X. 

Two  prudent  marriages,  made  by  Austrian  archdukes 
within  twenty  years,  have  altered  the  face  of  the  earth. 
The  stream,  which  we  have  been  tracing  from  its  source, 
empties  itself  at  last  into  the  ocean  of  a  world-empire.  Count 
Dirk  the  First,  lord  of  a  half-submerged  corner  of  Europe,  is  sue- 


THE   TWO    CHARLEMAGNES.  57 

ceeded  by  Count  Charles  the  Second  of  Holland,  better  known 
as  Charles  the  Fifth,  King  of  Spain,  Sicily,  and  Jerusalem, 
Duke  of  Milan,  Emperor  of  Germany,  Dominator  in  Asia  and 
Africa,  autocrat  of  half  the  world.  The  leading  events  of  his 
brilliant  reign  are  familiar  to  every  child.  The  Netherlands 
now  share  the  fate  of  so  large  a  group  of  nations,  a  fate,  to 
these  provinces,  most  miserable.  The  weddings  of  Austria 
Felix*  were  not  so  prolific  of  happiness  to  her  subjects  as  to 
herself.  It  can  never  seem  just  or  reasonable  that  the  destiny 
of  many  millions  of  human  beings  should  dej>end  upon  the 
marriage-settlements  of  one  man  with  one  woman,  and  a 
permanent,  prosperous  empire  can  never  be  reared  upon  so 
frail  a  foundation.  The  leading  thought  of  the  first  Charle- 
magne  was  a  noble  and  a  useful  one,  nor  did  his  imperial 
scheme  seem  chimerical,  even  although  time,  wiser  than 
monarchs  or  lawgivers,  was  to  prove  it  impracticable.  To 
weld  into  one  great  whole  the  various  tribes  of  Franks,  Frisi- 
ans, Saxons,  Lombards,  Burgundians,  and  others,  still  in 
their  turbulent  youth,  and  still  composing  one  great  Teutonic 
family  ;  to  enforce  the  mutual  adhesion  of  naturally  coherent 
masses,  all  of  one  lineage,  one  language,  one  history,  and 
which  were  only  beginning  to  exhibit  their  tendencies  to  insu- 
lation, to  acquiesce  in  a  variety  of  local  laws  and  customs, 
while  an  iron  will  was  to  concentrate  a  vast,  but  homogeneous, 
people  into  a  single  nation  ;  to  raise  up  from  the  grave  of 
corrupt  and  buried  Eome  a  fresh,  vigorous,  German,  Christian 
empire  ;  this  was  a  reasonable  and  manly  thought.  Far 
different  the  conception  of  the  second  Charlemagne.  To  force 
into  discordant  union,  tribes  which,  for  seven  centuries,  had 
developed  themselves  into  hostile  nations,  separated  by  geog- 
raphy and  history,  customs  and  laws,  to  combine  many  mil- 
lions under  one  sceptre,  not  because  of  natural  identity,  but 
for  the  sake  of  composing  one  splendid  family  property,  to 
establish  unity  by  annihilating  local  institutions,  to  supersede 
popular  and  liberal  charters  by  the  edicts  of  a  central  despotism, 


"  Bella  gerant  alii,  tu  felix  Austria  nubc,"  etc.,  etc 


58  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

to  do  battle  with  the  whole  spirit  of  an  age,  to  regard  the 
souls  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  vast  multitudes  as  the  personal 
property  of  one  individual,  to  strive  for  the  perpetuation  in  a 
single  house  of  many  crowns,  which  accident  had  blended, 
and  to  imagine  the  consecration  of  the  whole  system  by 
placing  the  pope's  triple  diadem  forever  upon  the  imperial 
head  of  the  Habsburgs  ; — all  this  was  not  the  effort  of  a 
great,  constructive  genius,  but  the  selfish  scheme  of  an 
autocrat. 

The  union  of  no  two  countries  could  be  less  likely  to  prove 
advantageous  or  agreeable  than  that  of  the  Netherlands  and 
Spain.  They  were  widely  separated  geographically,  while  in 
history,  manners,  and  politics,  they  were  utterly  opposed  to 
each  other.  Spain,  which  had  but  just  assumed  the  form  of  a 
single  state  by  the  combination  of  all  its  kingdoms,  with  its 
haughty  nobles  descended  from  petty  kings,  and  arrogating 
almost  sovereign,  power  within  their  domains,  with  its  fierce 
enthusiasm  for  the  Catholic  religion,  which,  in  the  course  of 
long  warfare  with  the  Saracens,  had  become  the  absorbing 
characteristic  of  a  whole  nation,  with  its  sparse  population 
scattered  over  a  wide  and  stern  country,  with  a  military  spirit 
which  led  nearly  all  classes  to  prefer  poverty  to  the  wealth 
attendant  upon  degrading  pursuits  of  trade  ; — Spain,  with 
her  gloomy,  martial,  and  exaggerated  character,  was  the  ab- 
solute contrast  of  the  Netherlands. 

These  provinces  had  been  rarely  combined  into  a  whole, 
but  there  was  natural  affinity  in  their  character,  history,  and 
position.  There  was  life,  movement,  bustling  activity  every 
where.  An  energetic  population  swarmed  in  all  the  flourish- 
ing cities  which  dotted  the  surface  of  a  contracted  and  highly 
cultivated  country.  Their  ships  were  the  carriers  for  the 
world ; — their  merchants,  if  invaded  in  their  rights,  engaged  in 
vigorous  warfare  with  their  own  funds  and  their  own  frigates ; 
their  fabrics  were  prized  over  the  whole  earth  ;  their  burghers 
possessed  the  wealth  of  princes,  lived  with  royal  luxury,  and 
exercised  vast  political  influence  ;  their  love  of  liberty  was 
their  predominant  passion.     Their  religious  ardor  had  not 


SPAIN    AND    THE    NETHERLANDS    CONTRASTED.  59 

been  fully  awakened  ;  but  the  events  of  the  next  generation 
were  to  prove  that  in  no  respect  more  than  in  the  religious 
sentiment,  were  the  two  races  opposed  to  each  other.  It  was 
as  certain  that  the  Netherlander  would  be  fierce  reformers 
as  that  the  Spaniards  would  be  uncompromising  persecutors. 
Unhallowed  was  the  union  between  nations  thus  utterly 
contrasted. 

Philip  the  Fair  and  Ferdinand  had  detested  and  quarrelled 
with  each  other  from  the  beginning.  The  Spaniards  and 
Flemings  participated  in  the  mutual  antipathy,  and  hated 
each  other  cordially  at  first  sight.  The  unscrupulous  avarice 
of  the  Netherland  nobles  in  Spain,  their  grasping  and  venal 
ambition,  enraged  and  disgusted  the  haughty  Spaniards.  This 
international  malignity  furnishes  one  of  the  keys  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  great  revolt  in  the  next  reign. 

The  provinces,  now  all  united  again  under  an  emperor,  were 
treated,  opulent  and  powerful  as  they  were,  as  obscure  depend- 
encies. The  regency  over  them  was  entrusted  by  Charles  to 
his  near  relatives,  who  governed  in  the  interest  of  his  house, 
not  of  the  country.  His  course  towards  them  upon  the  relig- 
ious question  will  be  hereafter  indicated.  The  political  char- 
acter of  his  administration  was  typified,  and,  as  it  were, 
dramatized,  on  the  occasion  of  the  memorable  insurrection  at 
Ghent.  For  this  reason,  a  few  interior  details  concerning  that 
remarkable  event,  seem  requisite. 

XL 

Ghent  was,  in  all  respects,  one  of  the  most  important  cities 
in  Europe.  Erasmus,  who,  as  a  Hollander  and  a  courtier,  was 
not  likely  to  be  partial  to  the  turbulent  Flemings,  asserted 
that  there  was  no  town  in  all  Christendom  to  be  compared  to 
it  for  size,  power,  political  constitution,  or  the  culture  of  its 
inhabitants.  It  was,  said  one  of  its  inhabitants  at  the  epoch  of 
the  insurrection,  rather  a  country  than  a  city.  The  activity 
and  wealth  of  its  burghers  were  proverbial.  The  bells  were 
rung  daily,  and  the  drawbridges  over  the  many  arms  of  the 
river  intersecting  the  streets  were  raised,  in  order  that  all 


60  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

business  might  be  suspended,  while  the  armies  of  workmen 
were  going  to  or  returning  from  their  labors.  As  early  as  the 
fourteenth  century,  the  age  of  the  Arteveldes,  Froissart  esti- 
mated the  number  of  fighting  men  whom  Ghent  could  bring 
into  the  field  at  eighty  thousand.  The  city,  by  its  jurisdiction 
over  many  large  but  subordinate  towns,  disposed  of  more  than 
its  own  immediate  population,  which  has  been  reckoned  as 
high  as  two  hundred  thousand. 

Placed  in  the  midst  of  well  cultivated  plains,  Ghent  was 
surrounded  by  strong  walls,  the  external  circuit  of  which 
measured  nine  miles.  Its  streets  and  squares  were  spacious 
and  elegant,  its  churches  and  other  public  buildings  numerous 
and  splendid.  The  sumptuous  church  of  Saint  John  or  Saint 
Bavon,  where  Charles  the  Fifth  had  been  baptized,  the  an- 
cient castle  whither  Baldwin  Bras  de  Fer  had  brought  the 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Bald,  the  city  hall  with  its  graceful 
Moorish  front,  the  well-known  belfry,  where  for  three  centu- 
ries had  perched  the  dragon  sent  by  the  Emperor  Baldwin  of 
Flanders  from  Constantinople,  and  where  swung  the  famous 
Roland,  whose  iron  tongue  had  called  the  citizens,  generation 
after  generation,  to  arms,  whether  to  win  battles  over  foreign 
kings  at  the  head  of  their  chivalry,  or  to  plunge  their  swords  in 
each  others'  breasts,  were  all  conspicuous  in  the  city  and  cele- 
brated in  the  land.  Especially  the  great  bell  was  the  object  of 
the  burghers'  affection,  and,  generally,  of  the  sovereign's  hatred ; 
while  to  all  it  seemed,  as  it  were,  a  living  historical  personage, 
endowed  with  the  human  powers  and  passions  which  it  had  so 
long  directed  and  inflamed. 

The  constitution  of  the  city  was  very  free.  It  was  a  little 
republic  in  all  but  name.  Its  population  was  divided  into  fifty- 
two  guilds  of  manufacturers  and  into  thirty-two  tribes  of 
weavers  ;  each  fraternity  electing  annually  or  biennally  its  own 
deans  and  subordinate  officers.  The  senate,  which  exercised 
functions  legislative,  judicial,  and  administrative,  subject  of 
course  to  the  grand  council  of  Mechlin  and  to  the  sovereign 
authority,  consisted  of  twenty-six  members.  These  were 
appointed  partly  from  the  upper  class,  or  the  men  who  lived 


INSURRECTION   AT   GHENT.  61 

upon  their  means,  partly  from  the  manufacturers  in  general, 
and  partly  from  the  weavers.  They  were  chosen  by  a  college 
of  eight  electors,  who  were  appointed  by  the  sovereign  on 
nomination  by  the  citizens.  The  whole  city,  in  its  collective 
capacity,  constituted  one  of  the  four  estates  (Membra)  of  the 
province  of  Flanders.  It  is  obvious  that  so  much  liberty  of 
form  and  of  fact,  added  to  the  stormy  character  by  which  its 
citizens  were  distinguished,  would  be  most  offensive  in  the 
eyes  of  Charles,  and  that  the  delinquencies  of  the  little  com- 
monwealth would  be  represented  in  the  most  glaring  colors 
by  all  those  quiet  souls,  who  preferred  the  tranquillity  of 
despotism  to  the  turbulence  of  freedom.  The  city  claimed, 
moreover,  the  general  provisions  of  the  "  Great  Privilege"  of 
the  Lady  Mary,  the  Magna  Charta,  which,  according  to  the 
monarchical  party,  had  been  legally  abrogated  by  Maximilian. 
The  liberties  of  the  town  had  also  been  nominally  curtailed 
by  the  i:  calf-shin''  (Kalf  Vel).  By  this  celebrated  document, 
Charles  the  Fifth,  then  fifteen  years  of  age,  had  been  made  to 
threaten  with  condign  punishment  all  persons  who  should 
maintain  that  he  had  sworn  at  his  inauguration  to  observe 
any  privileges  or  charters  claimed  by  the  Ghenters  before  the 
peace  of  Cadsand. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  discontent,  the  attempt  to  force 
from  Flanders  a  subsidy  of  four  hundred  thousand  caroli,  as 
the  third  part  of  the  twelve  hundred  thousand  granted  by  the 
states  of  the  Netherlands,  and  the  resistance  of  Ghent  in 
opposition  to  the  other  three  members  of  the  province,  will,  of 
course,  be  judged  differently,  according  as  the  sympathies  are 
stronger  with  popular  rights  or  with  prerogative.  The  citizens 
claimed  that  the  subsidy  could  only  be  granted  by  the  unan- 
imous consent  of  the  four  estates  of  the  province.  Among 
other  proofs  of  this  their  unquestionable  right,  they  appealed 
to  a  muniment,  which  had  never  existed,  save  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  credulous  populace.  At  a  certain  remote  epoch, 
one  of  the  Counts  of  Flanders,  it  was  contended,  had  gambled 
away  his  countship  to  the  Earl  of  Holland,  but  had  been 
extricated  from  Lis  dilemma  by  the  generosity  of  Ghent.     The 


62  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC, 

burghers  of  the  town  had  paid  the  debts  and  redeemed  the 
sovereignty  of  their  lord,  and  had  thereby  gained,  in  return,  a 
charter,  called  the  Bargain  of  Flanders  (Koop  van  Flandern). 
Among  the  privileges  granted  by  this  document,  was  an 
express  stipulation  that  no  subsidy  should  ever  be  granted  by 
the  province  without  the  consent  of  Ghent.  This  charter 
would  have  been  conclusive  in  the  present  emergency,  had  it 
not  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  never  having  existed. 
It  was  supposed  by  many  that  the  magistrates,  some  of  whom 
were  favorable  to  government,  had  hidden  the  document. 
Lieven  Pyl,  an  ex-senator,  was  supposed  to  be  privy  to  its 
concealment.  He  was  also,  with  more  justice,  charged  with 
an  act  of  great  baseness  and  effrontery.  Deputed  by  the 
citizens  to  carry  to  the  Queen  Regent  their  positive  refusal  to 
grant  the  subsidy,  he  had,  on  the  contrary,  given  an  answer, 
in  their  name,  in  the  affirmative.  For  these  delinquencies,  the 
imaginary  and  the  real,  he  was  inhumanly  tortured  and  after- 
wards beheaded.  "  I  know,  my  children,"  said  he  upon  the 
scaffold,  "  that  you  will  be  grieved  when  you  have  seen  my 
blood  flow,  and  that  you  will  regret  me  when  it  is  too  late." 
It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  there  was  any  especial 
reason  to  regret  him,  however  sanguinary  the  punishment 
which  had  requited  his  broken  faith. 

The  mischief  being  thus  afoot,  the  tongue  of  Roland,  and 
the  easily-excited  spirits  of  the  citizens,  soon  did  the  rest. 
Ghent  broke  forth  into  open  insurrection.  They  had  been 
willing  to  enlist  and  pay  troops  under  their  own  banners,  but 
they  had  felt  outraged  at  the  enormous  contribution  demanded 
of  them  for  a  foreign  war,  undertaken  in  the  family  interests 
of  their  distant  master.  They  could  not  find  the  "  Bargain 
of  Flanders,"  but  they  got  possession  of  the  odious  "  calf 
skin,"  which  was  solemnly  cut  in  two  by  the  dean  of  the 
weavers.  It  was  then  torn  in  shreds  by  the  angry  citizens, 
many  of  whom  paraded  the  streets  with  pieces  of  the  hated 
document  stuck  in  their  caps,  like  plumes.  From  these  demon- 
strations they  proceeded  to  intrigues  with  Francis  the  First. 
He  rejected  them,  and  gave  notice  of  their  overtures  to  Charles, 


EXPEDITION    OF    CHARLES.  63 

who  now  resolved  to  quell  the  insurrection,  at  once.  Francis 
wrote,  begging  that  the  Emperor  would  honor  him  by  coming 
through  France  ;  "  wishing  to  assure  you/'  said  he,  "  my 
lord  and  good  brother,  by  this  letter,  written  and  signed  by 
my  hand,  upon  my  honor,  and  on  the  faith  of  a  prince,  and 
of  the  best  brother  you  have,  that  in  passing  through  my 
kingdom  every  possible  honor  and  hospitality  will  be  offered 
you,  even  as  they  could  be  to  myself.''  Certainly,  the  French 
king,  after  such  profuse  and  voluntary  pledges,  to  confirm 
winch  he,  moreover,  offered  his  two  sons  and  other  great  in- 
dividuals as  hostages,  could  not,  without  utterly  disgracing 
himself,  have  taken  any  unhandsome  advantage  of  the  Em- 
peror's presence  in  his  dominions.  The  reflections  often  made 
concerning  the  liigh-minded  chivalry  of  Francis,  and  the 
subtle  knowledge  of  human  nature  displayed  by  Charles  upon 
the  occasion,  seem,  therefore,  entirely  superfluous.  The  Em- 
peror came  to  Paris.  "  Here,"  says  a  citizen  of  Ghent,  at 
the  time,  who  has  left  a  minute  account  of  the  transaction 
upon  record,  but  whose  sympathies  were  ludicrously  with  the 
despot  and  against  his  own  townspeople,  "  here  the  Emperor 
was  received  as  if  the  God  of  Paradise  had  descended."  On 
the  9th  of  February,  1540,  he  left  Brussels  ;  on  the  14th 
he  came  to  Ghent.  His  entrance  into  the  city  lasted  more 
than  sis  hours.  Four  thousand  lancers,  one  thousand  archers, 
five  thousand  halberdmen  and  muscrueteers  composed  his  body- 
guard, all  armed  to  the  teeth  and  ready  for  combat.  The 
Emperor  rode  in  their  midst,  surrounded  by  "  cardinals,  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  other  great  ecclesiastical  lords,"  so  that 
the  terrors  of  the  Church  were  combined  with  the  panoply  of 
war  to  affright  the  souls  of  the  turbulent  burghers.  A  bril- 
liant train  of  "  dukes,  princes,  carls,  barons,  grand  masters, 
and  seignors,  together  with  most  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Fleece,"  were,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  same  eye- 
witness, in  attendance  upon  his  Majesty.  This  unworthy  son 
of  Ghent  was  in  ecstasies  with  the  magnificence  displayed 
upon  the  occasion.  There  was  such  a  number  of  "  grand 
lords,  members  of  sovereign  houses,  bishops,  and  other  eccle- 


G4  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

siastical  dignitaries  going  about  the  streets,  that,"  as  the  poor 
soul  protested  with  delight,  "  there  was  nobody  else  to  be 
met  with."  Especially  the  fine  clothes  of  these  distinguished 
guests  excited  Ins  warmest  admiration.  It  was  wonderful  to 
behold,  he  said,  "  the  nobility  and  great  richness  of  the  princes 
and  seignors,  displayed  as  well  in  their  beautiful  furs,  martins 
and  sables,  as  in  the  great  chains  of  fine  gold  which  they  wore 
twisted  round  their  necks,  and  the  pearls  and  precious  stones 
in  their  bonnets  and  otherwise,  which  they  displayed  in  great 
abundance.  It  was  a  very  triumphant  thing  to  see  them  thus 
richly  dressed  and  accoutred." 

An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  size  and  wealth  of  the  city 
at  this  period,  from  the  fact  that  it  received  and  accommodated 
sixty  thousand  strangers,  with  their  fifteen  thousand  horses, 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  Emperor's  visit.  Charles  allowed  a 
month  of  awful  suspense  to  intervene  between  his  arrival  and 
his  vengeance.  Despair  and  hope  alternated  during  the  in- 
terval. On  the  17th  of  March,  the  spell  was  broken  by 
the  execution  of  nineteen  persons,  who  were  beheaded  as 
ringleaders.  On  the  29th  of  April,  he  pronounced  sentence 
upon  the  city.  The  hall  where  it  was  rendered  was  open  to 
all  comers,  and  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,  the 
Queen  Eegent,  and  the  great  functionaries  of  Court,  Church, 
and  State.  The  decree,  now  matured,  was  read  at  length.  It 
annulled  all  the  charters,  privileges,  and  laws  of  Ghent.  It 
confiscated  all  its  public  property,  rents,  revenues,  houses, 
artillery,  munitions  of  war,  and  in  general  every  thing  which 
the  corporation,  or  the  traders,  each  and  all,  possessed  in  com- 
mon. In  particular,  the  great  bell  Roland  was  condemned 
and  sentenced  to  immediate  removal.  It  was  decreed  that 
the  four  hundred  thousand  florins,  which  had  caused  the  re- 
volt, should  forthwith  be  paid,  together  with  an  additional  fine 
by  Ghent  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  besides  six  thou- 
sand a  year,  forever  after.  In  place  of  their  ancient  and 
beloved  constitution,  thus  annihilated  at  a  blow,  was  promul- 
gated a  new  form  of  municipal  government  of  the  simplest 
kind,  according  to  which  all  officers  were  in  future  to  be  ap- 


GHENT   CHASTISED.  65 

pointed  by  himself  and  the  guilds,  to  be  reduced  to  half  their 
number  ;  shorn  of  all  political  power,  and  deprived  entirely  of 
self-government.  It  was,  moreover,  decreed,  that  the  sena- 
tors, their  pensionaries,  clerks  and  secretaries,  thirty  notable 
burghers,  to  be  named  by  the  Emperor,  with  the  great  dean 
and  second  dean  of  the  weavers,  all  dressed  in  black  robes, 
without  their  chains,  and  bareheaded,  should  appear  upon 
an  appointed  day,  in  company  with  fifty  persons  from 
the  guilds,  and  fifty  others,  to  be  arbitrarily  named,  in 
their  shirts,  loith  halters  upon  their  necks.  This  large  number 
of  deputies,  as  representatives  of  the  city,  were  then  to 
fall  upon  their  knees  before  the  Emperor,  say  in  a  loud 
and  intelligible  voice,  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  their  clerks, 
that  they  were  extremely  sorry  for  the  disloyalty,  disobe- 
dience, infraction  of  laws,  commotions,  rebellion,  and  high 
treason,  of  which  they  had  been  guilty,  promise  that  they 
would  never  do  the  like  again,  and  humbly  implore  him,  for 
the  sake  of  the  Passion  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  grant  them  mercy 
and  forgiveness. 

The  third  day  of  May  was  appointed  for  the  execution  of 
the  sentence.  Charles,  who  was  fond  of  imposing  exhibitions 
and  prided  himself  upon  arranging  them  with  skill,  was  deter- 
mined that  this  occasion  should  be  long  remembered  by  all 
burghers  throughout  his  dominions  who  might  be  disposed  to 
insist  strongly  upon  their  municipal  rights.  The  streets  were 
alive  with  troops  :  cavalry  and  infantry  in  great  numbers 
keeping  strict  guard  at  every  point  throughout  the  whole  extent 
of  the  city  ;  for  it  was  known  that  the  hatred  produced  by  the 
sentence  was  most  deadly,  and  that  nothing  but  an  array  of 
invincible  force  could  keep  those  hostile  sentiments  in  check. 
The  senators  in  their  black  mourning  robes,  the  other  deputies 
in  linen  shirts,  bareheaded,  with  halters  on  their  necks,  pro- 
ceeded, at  the  appointed  hour,  from  the  senate  house  to  the 
imperial  residence.  High  on  his  throne,  with  the  Queen 
Regent  at  his  side,  surrounded  by  princes,  prelates  and  nobles, 
guarded  by  his  archers  and  halberdiers,  his  crown  on  his  head 
and  his  sceptre  in  his  hand,  the  Emperor,  exalted,  sat.     The 

VOL.    I.  5 


66  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

senators  and  burghers,  in  their  robes  of  humiliation,  knelt  in 
the  dust  at  his  feet.  The  prescribed  words  of  contrition  and  of 
supplication  for  mercy  were  then  read  by  the  pensionary,  all 
the  deputies  remaining  upon  their  knees,  and  many  of  them 
crying  bitterly  with  rage  and  shame.  "  What  principally 
distressed  them,"  said  the  honest  citizen,  whose  admiration  for 
the  brilliant  accoutrement  of  the  princes  and  prelates  has  been 
recorded,  "  was  to  have  the  halter  on  their  necks,  which  they 
found  hard  to  bear,  and,  if  they  had  not  been  compelled,  they 
would  rather  have  died  than  submit  to  it." 

As  soon  as  the  words  had  been  all  spoken  by  the  pensionary, 
the  Emperor,  whose  cue  was  now  to  appear  struggling  with 
mingled  emotions  of  reasonable  wrath  and  of  natural  benignity, 
performed  his  part  with  much  dramatic  effect.  "He  held 
himself*  coyly  for  a  little  time,"  says  the  eye-witness,  "  without 
saying  a  word  ;  deporting  himself  as  though  he  were  considering 
whether  or  not  he  would  grant  the  pardon  for  which  the 
culprits  had  prayed."  Then  the  Queen  Eegent  enacted  her 
share  in  the  show.  Turning  to  his  Majesty  "with  all  rever- 
ence, honor  and  humility,  she  begged  that  he  would  concede 
forgiveness,  in  honor  of  his  nativity,  which  had  occurred  in 
that  city." 

Upon  this  the  Emperor  "made  a  fine  show  of  benignity," 
and  replied  "very  sweetly"  that  in  consequence  of  Ins 
"fraternal  love  for  her,  by  reason  of  his  being  a  gentle  and 
virtuous  prince,  who  preferred  mercy  to  the  rigor  of  justice, 
and  in  view  of  their  repentance,  he  would  accord  his  pardon  to 
the  citizens." 

The  Netherlands,  after  this  issue  to  the  struggle  of  Ghent, 
were  reduced,  practically,  to  a  very  degraded  condition.  The 
form  of  local  self-government  remained,  but  its  spirit,  when 
invoked,  only  arose  to  be  derided.  The  supreme  court  of 
Mechlin,  as  in  the  days  of  Charles  the  Bold,  was  again  placec] 
in  despotic  authority  above  the  ancient  charters.  Was  it 
probable  that  the  lethargy  of  provinces,  which  had  reached  so 
high  a  point  of  freedom  only  to  be  deprived  of  it  at  last, 
could  endure   forever?     Was  it  to  be  hoped   that   the  stern 


EARLY  NETHERLAND  HERESY.  67 

spirit  of  religions  enthusiasm,  allying  itself  with  the  keen 
instinct  of  civil  liberty,  would  endue  the  provinces  with 
strength  to  throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke  ? 

XII. 

It  is  impossible  to  comprehend  the  character  of  the  great 
Netherland  revolt  in  the  sixteenth  century  without  taking  a 
rapid  retrospective  survey  of  the  religious  phenomena  exhib- 
ited in  the  provinces.  The  introduction  of  Christianity  has 
been  already  indicated.  From  the  earliest  times,  neither 
prince,  people,  nor  even  prelates  were  very  dutiful  to  the  pope. 
As  the  papal  authority  made  progress,  strong  resistance  was 
often  made  to  its  decrees.  The  bishops  of  Utrecht  were 
dependent  for  their  wealth  and  territory  upon  the  good  will  of 
the  Emperor.  They  were  the  determined  opponents  of  Hilde- 
brand,  warm  adherents  of  the  Hohenstaufers — Ghibelline 
rather  than  Guelph.  Heresy  was  a  plant  of  early  growth  in 
the  Netherlands.  As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  12th 
century,  the  notorious  Tanchelyn  preached  at  Antwerp,  attack- 
ing the  authority  of  the  pope  and  of  all  other  ecclesiastics  ; 
scoffing  at  the  ceremonies  and  sacraments  of  the  Church. 
Unless  his  character  and  career  have  been  grossly  misrepre- 
sented, he  was  the  most  infamous  of  the  many  impostors  who 
have  so  often  disgraced  the  cause  of  religious  reformation.  By 
more  than  four  centuries,  he  anticipated  the  licentiousness  and 
greediness  manifested  by  a  series  of  false  prophets,  and  was 
the  first  to  turn  both  the  stupidity  of  a  populace  and  the 
viciousness  of  a  priesthood  to  his  own  advancement ;  an  ambi- 
tion which  afterwards  reached  its  most  signal  expression  in 
the  celebrated  John  of  Leyden. 

The  impudence  of  Tanchelyn  and  the  superstition  of  his 
followers  seem  alike  incredible.  All  Antwerp  was  his  harem. 
He  levied,  likewise,  vast  sums  upon  his  converts,  and  when- 
ever he  appeared  in  public,  his  apparel  and  porup  were  befitting 
an  emperor.  Three  thousand  armed  satellites  escorted  his 
steps  and  put  to  death  all  who  resisted  his  commands.  So 
groveling  became  the  superstition  of  his  followers  that  they 


68  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC. 

drank  of  the  water  in  which  he  had  washed,  and  treasured  it 
as  a  divine  elixir.  Advancing  still  further  in  his  experiments 
upon  human  credulity,  he  announced  Ins  approaching  mar- 
riage with  the  Virgin  Mary,  hade  all  his  disciples  to  the  wed- 
ding, and  exhibited  himself  before  an  immense  crowd  in 
company  with  an  image  of  his  holy  bride.  He  then  ordered 
the  people  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  nuptials  and  the 
dowry  of  his  wife,  placing  a  coffer  upon  each  side  of  the  image, 
to  receive  the  contributions  of  either  sex.  Which  is  the  most 
wonderful  manifestation  in  the  history  of  this  personage — the 
audacity  of  the  impostor,  or  the  bestiality  of  his  victims  ?  His 
career  was  so  successful  in  the  Netherlands  that  he  had  the 
effrontery  to  proceed  to  Rome,  promulgating  what  he  called 
his  doctrines  as  he  went.  He  seems  to  have  been  assassinated 
by  a  priest  in  an  obscure  brawl,  about  the  year  1115. 

By  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  other  and  purer 
heresiarchs  had  arisen.  Many  Netherlander  became  converts 
to  the  doctrines  of  Waldo.  From  that  period  until  the 
appearance  of  Luther,  a  succession  of  sects — Waldenses,  Al- 
bigenses,  Perfectists,  Lollards,  Poplicans,  Arnaldists,  Bohemian 
Brothers — waged  perpetual  but  unequal  warfare  with  the 
power  and  depravity  of  the  Church,  fertilizing  with  their  blood 
the  future  field  of  the  Reformation.  Nowhere  was  the  per- 
secution of  heretics  more  relentless  than  in  the  Netherlands. 
Suspected  persons  were  subjected  to  various  torturing  but 
ridiculous  ordeals.  After  such  trial,  death  by  fire  was  the 
usual  but,  perhaps,  not  the  most  severe  form  of  execution.  In 
Flanders,  monastic  ingenuity  had  invented  another  most 
painful  punishment  for  Waldenses  and  similar  malefactors.  A 
criminal  whose  guilt  had  been  established  by  the  hot  iron,  hot 
ploughshare,  boiling  kettle,  or  other  logical  proof,  was  stripped 
and  bound  to  the  stake  : — he  was  then  flayed,  from  the  neck 
to  the  navel,  while  swarms  of  bees  were  let  loose  to  fasten 
upon  his  bleeding  flesh  and  torture  him  to  a  death  of  exquisite 
agony. 

Nevertheless  heresy  increased  in  the  face  of  oppression 
The  Scriptures,  translated  by  Waldo  into  French,  were  ren- 


ECCLESIASTICAL   OPPRESSION.  69 

dered  into  Netherland  rhyme,  and  the  converts  to  the  Vaudois 
doctrine  increased  in  numbers  and  boldness.  At  the  same  time 
the  power  and  luxury  of  the  clergy  was  waxing  daily.  The 
bishops  of  Utrecht,  no  longer  the  defenders  of  the  people 
against  arbitrary  power,  conducted  themselves  like  little  popes. 
Yielding  in  dignity  neither  to  king  nor  kaiser,  they  exacted 
homage  from  the  most  powerful  princes  of  the  Netherlands. 
The  clerical  order  became  the  most  privileged  of  all.  The  ac- 
cused priest  refused  to  acknowledge  the  temporal  tribunals. 
The  protection  of  ecclesiastical  edifices  was  extended  over  all 
criminals  and  fugitives  from  justice — a  beneficent  result  in 
those  sanguinary  ages,  even  if  its  roots  were  sacerdotal  pride. 
To  establish  an  accusation  against  a  bishop,  seventy-two 
witnesses  were  necessary  ;  against  a  deacon,  twenty-seven  ; 
against  an  inferior  dignitary,  seven  ;  while  two  were  sufficient 
to  convict  a  layman.  The  power  to  read  and  write  helped 
the  clergy  to  much  wealth.  Privileges  and  charters  from  petty 
princes,  gifts  and  devises  from  private  persons,  were  docu- 
ments which  few,  save  ecclesiastics,  could  draw  or  dispute.  Not 
content,  moreover,  with  their  territories  and  their  tithings, 
the  churchmen  perpetually  devised  new  burthens  upon  the 
peasantry.  Ploughs,  sickles,  horses,  oxen,  all  implements  of 
husbandry,  were  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  toiled  not, 
but  who  gathered  into  barns.  In  the  course  of  the  twelfth 
century,  many  religious  houses,  richly  endowed  with  lands  and 
other  property,  were  founded  in  the  Netherlands.  Was  hand 
or  voice  raised  against  clerical  encroachment — the  priests  held 
ever  in  readiness  a  deadly  weapon  of  defence :  a  blasting- 
anathema  was  thundered  against  their  antagonist,  and  smote 
him  into  submission.  The  disciples  of  Him  who  ordered 
his  followers  to  bless  their  persecutors,  and  to  love  their 
enemies,  invented  such  Christian  formulas  as  these  : — "  In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  John  the  Baptist,  Peter  and  Paul,  and  all  other 
Saints  in  Heaven,  do  we  curse  and  cut  off  from  our  Communion 
him  who  has  thus  rebelled  against  us.  May  the  curse  strike 
him  in  his  house,  barn,  bed,  field,  path,  city,  castle.     May  he 


70  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

be  cursed  in  battle,  accursed  in  praying,  in  speaking,  in 
silence,  in  eating,  in  drinking,  in  sleeping.  May  lie  be  ac- 
cursed in  his  taste,  bearing,  smell,  and  all  his  senses.  May 
the  curse  blast  his  eyes,  head,  and  his  body,  from  his  crown  to 
the  soles  of  his  feet.  I  conjure  you,  Devil,  and  all  your  imps, 
that  you  take  no  rest  till  you  have  brought  him  to  eternal 
shame  ;  till  he  is  destroyed  by  drowning  or  hanging,  till  he 
is  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  beasts,  or  consumed  by  fire.  Let  Ins 
children  become  orphans,  his  wife  a  widow.  I  command  you, 
Devil,  and  all  your  imps,  that  even  as  I  now  blow  out  these 
torches,  you  do  immediately  extinguish  the  light  from  his 
eyes.  So  be  it — so  be  it.  Amen.  Amen."  So  speaking, 
the  curser  was  wont  to  blow  out  two  waxen  torches  which  he 
held  in  his  hands,  and,  with  this  practical  illustration,  the 
anathema  was  complete. 

Such  insane  ravings,  even  in  the  mouth  of  some  impotent 
beldame,  were  enough  to  excite  a  shudder,  but  in  that  dreary 
epoch,  these  curses  from  the  lips  of  clergymen  were  deemed 
sufficient  to  draw  down  celestial  lightning  upon  the  head,  not 
of  the  blasphemer,  but  of  his  victim.  Men,  who  trembled 
neither  at  sword  nor  fire,  cowered  like  slaves  before  such  horrid 
imprecations,  uttered  by  tongues  gifted,  as  it  seemed,  with 
superhuman  power.  Their  fellow-men  shrank  from  the 
wretches  thus  blasted,  and  refused  communication  with  them 
as  unclean  and  abhorred. 

By  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  however,  the  clerical 
power  was  already  beginning  to  decline.  It  was  not  the 
corruption  of  the  Church,  but  its  enormous  wealth  which 
engendered  the  hatred,  with  which  it  was  by  many  regarded. 
Temporal  princes  and  haughty  barons  began  to  dispute  the 
right  of  ecclesiastics  to  enjoy  vast  estates,  while  refusing  the 
burthen  of  taxation,  and  unable  to  draw  a  sword  for  the  com- 
mon defence.  At  this  period,  the  Counts  of  Flanders,  of 
Holland,  and  other  Netherland  sovereigns,  issued  decrees,  for- 
bidding clerical  institutions  from  acquiring  property,  by  devise, 
gift,  purchase,  or  any  other  mode.  The  downfall  of  the  rapa- 
cious   and  licentious   lmights-templar   in   the   provinces    and 


GENERAL    RESISTANCE   TO   THE   CLERGY.  71 

throughout  Europe,  was  another  severe  blow  administered  at 
the  same  time.  The  attacks  upon  Church  abuses  redoubled  in 
boldness,  as  its  authority  declined.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif  had  made 
great  progress  in  the  land.  Early  in  the  fifteenth,  the 
executions  of  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  produce  the  Bo- 
hemian rebellion.  The  Pope  proclaims  a  crusade  against  the 
Hussites.  Knights  and  prelates,  esquires  and  citizens,  enlist 
in  the  sacred  cause,  throughout  Holland  and  its  sister  provinces ; 
but  many  Netherlander,  who  had  felt  the  might  of  Ziska's  arm, 
come  back,  feeling  more  sympathy  with  the  heresy  which  they 
had  attacked,  than  with  the  Church  for  which  they  had  battled. 
Meantime,  the  restrictions  imposed  by  Netherland  sover- 
eigns upon  clerical  rights  to  hold  or  acquire  property,  become 
more  stern  and  more  general.  On  the  other  hand,  with  the 
invention  of  printing,  the  cause  of  Eeformation  takes  a  colossal 
stride  in  advance.  A  Bible,  which,  before,  had  cost  five  hun- 
dred crowns,  now  costs  but  five.  The  people  acquire  the 
power  of  reading  God's  Word,  or  of  hearing  it  read,  for  them- 
selves. The  light  of  truth  dispels  the  clouds  of  super- 
stition, as  by  a  new  revelation.  The  Pope  and  his  monks 
are  found  to  bear,  very  often,  but  faint  resemblance  to  Jesus 
and  his  apostles.  Moreover,  the  instinct  of  self-interest 
sharpens  the  eye  of  the  public.  Many  greedy  priests,  of  lower 
rank,  had  turned  shop-keepers  in  the  Netherlands,  and  were 
growing  rich  by  selling  their  wares,  exempt  from  taxation,  at 
a  lower  rate  than  lay  hucksters  could  afford.  The  benefit  of 
clergy,  thus  taking  the  bread  from  the  mouths  of  many,  excites 
jealousy  ;  the  more  so,  as,  besides  their  miscellaneous  business, 
the  reverend  traders  have  a  most  lucrative  branch  of  commerce 
from  which  other  merchants  are  excluded.  The  sale  of  absolu- 
tions was  the  source  of  large  fortunes  to  the  priests.  The 
enormous  impudence  of  this  traffic  almost  exceeds  belief. 
Throughout  the  Netherlands,  the  price  current  of  the  wares 
thus  offered  for  sale,  was  published  in  every  town  and  village. 
God's  pardon  for  crimes  already  committed,  or  about  to  be 
committed,    was    advertised  according    to  a    graduated  tariff 


72  THE    EISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

Thus,  poisoning,  for  example,  was  absolved  for  eleven  ducats, 
six  livres  tournois.  Absolution  for  incest  was  afforded  at 
thirty-six  livres,  three  ducats.  Perjury  came  to  seven  livres 
and  three  carlines.  Pardon  for  murder,  if  not  by  poison,  was 
cheaper.  Even  a  parricide  could  buy  forgiveness  at  God's 
tribunal  at  one  ducat,  four  livres,  eight  carlines.  Henry  de 
Montfort,  in  the  year  1448,  purchased  absolution  for  that 
crime  at  that  price.  Was  it  strange  that  a  century  or  so  of 
tins  kind  of  work  should  produce  a  Luther  ?  Was  it  un- 
natural that  plain  people,  who  loved  the  ancient  Church,  should 
rather  desire  to  see  her  purged  of  such  blasphemous  abuses, 
than  to  hear  of  St.  Peter's  dome  rising  a  little  nearer  to  the 
clouds  on  these  proceeds  of  commuted  crime  ? 

At  the  same  time,  while  ecclesiastical  abuses  are  thus 
augmenting,  ecclesiastical  power  is  diminishing  in  the  Nether- 
lands. The  Church  is  no  longer  able  to  protect  itself  against 
the  secular  arm.  The  halcyon  days  of  ban,  book  and  candle, 
are  gone.  In  1459,  Duke  Philip  of  Burgundy  prohibits  the 
churches  from  affording  protection  to  fugitives.  Charles  the 
Bold,  in  whose  eyes  nothing  is  sacred  save  war  and  the  means 
of  making  it,  lays  a  heavy  impost  upon  all  clerical  property. 
Upon  being  resisted,  he  enforces  collection  with  the  armed 
hand.  The  sword  and  the  pen,  strength  and  intellect,  no 
longer  the  exclusive  servants  or  instruments  of  priestcraft,  are 
both  in  open  revolt.  Charles  the  Bold  storms  one  fortress, 
Doctor  Grandfort,  of  Groningen,  batters  another.  This 
learned  Frisian,  called  "  the  light  of  the  world,"  friend  and 
compatriot  of  the  great  Rudolph  Agricola,  preaches  throughout 
the  provinces,  uttering  bold  denunciations  of  ecclesiastical 
error.  He  even  disputes  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  denies 
the  utility  of  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  inveighs  against  the 
whole  doctrine  of  purgatory  and  absolution. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  the  great  Reform- 
ation was  actually  alive.  The  name  of  Erasmus  of 
Rotterdam  was  already  celebrated  ;  the  man,  who,  according 
to  Grotius,  "  so  well  showed  the  road  to  a  reasonable  reforma- 
tion."    But  if  Erasmus  showed  the  road,  he  certainly  did  not 


ERASMUS.  73 

travel  far  upon  it  himself.  Perpetual  type  of  the  quietist,  the 
moderate  man,  he  censured  the  errors  of  the  Church  with  dis- 
crimination and  gentleness,  as  if  Borgianism  had  not  been 
too  long  rampant  at  Rome,  as  if  men's  minds  throughout 
Christendom  were  not  too  deeply  stirred  to  be  satisfied  with 
mild  rebukes  against  sin,  especially  when  the  mild  rebuker  was 
in  receipt  of  livings  and  salaries  from  the  sinner.  Instead 
of  rebukes,  the  age  wanted  reforms.  The  Sage  of  Rotterdam 
was  a  keen  observer,  a  shrewd  satirist,  but  a  moderate  moralist, 
He  loved  ease,  good  company,  the  soft  repose  of  princely 
palaces,  better  than  a  life  of  martyrdom  and  a  death  at  the 
stake.  He  was  not  of  the  stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made,  as 
he  handsomely  confessed  on  more  than  one  occasion.  "  Let 
others  affect  martyrdom,"  he  said,  "  for  myself  I  am  unworthy 
of  the  honor ;"  and,  at  another  time,  "  I  am  not  of  a  mind," 
he  observed  "  to  venture  my  life  for  the  truth's  sake  ;  all 
men  have  not  strength  to  endure  the  martyr's  death.  For 
myself,  if  it  came  to  the  point,  I  should  do  no  better  than 
Simon  Peter."  Moderate  in  all  tilings,  he  would  have  liked, 
he  said,  to  live  without  eating  and  drinking,  although  he  never 
found  it  convenient  to  do  so,  and  he  rejoiced  when  advancing 
age  diminished  his  tendency  to  other  carnal  pleasures  in  which 
he  had  moderately  indulged.  Although  awake  to  the  abuses 
of  the  Church,  he  thought  Luther  going  too  fast  and  too 
far.  He  began  by  applauding — ended  by  censuring  the  monk 
of  "Wittemberg.  The  Reformation  might  have  been  delayed 
for  centuries  had  Erasmus  and  other  moderate  men  been 
the  only  reformers.  He  will  long  be  honored  for  his  elegant 
Latinity.  In  the  republic  of  letters,  his  efforts  to  infuse  a 
pure  taste,  a  sound  criticism,  a  love  for  the  beautiful  and  the 
classic,  in  place  of  the  owlish  pedantry  which  had  so  long 
flapped  and  hooted  through  mediaeval  cloisters,  will  always  be 
held  in  grateful  reverence.  In  the  history  of  the  religious 
Reformation,  his  name  seems  hardly  to  deserve  the  commend- 
ations of  Grotius. 

As  the  schism  yawns,  more  and  more  ominously,  throughout 
Christendom,  the  Emperor  naturally  trembles.      Anxious  to 


74  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    EEPUBLIC. 

save  the  state,  but  being  no  antique  Roman,  he  wishes  to 
close  the  gulf,  but  with  more  convenience  to  himself.  He 
conceives  the  highly  original  plan  of  combining  Church  and 
Empire  under  one  crown.  This  is  Maximilian's  scheme  for 
Church  reformation.  An  hereditary  papacy,  a  perpetual  pope- 
emperor,  the  Charlemagne  and  Hildebrand  systems  united 
and  simplified — thus  the  world  may  yet  be  saved.  "  Nothing 
more  honorable,  nobler,  better,  could  happen  to  us,"  writes 
Maximilian  to  Paul  Lichtenstein  (16th  Sept.  1511),  "  than  to 
re-annex  the  said  popedom — which  properly  belongs  to  us — 
to  our  Empire.  Cardinal  Adrian  approves  our  reasons  and 
encourages  us  to  proceed,  being  of  opinion  that  we  should  not 
have  much  trouble  with  the  cardinals.  It  is  much  to  be  feared 
that  the  Pope  may  die  of  his  present  sickness.  He  has  lost 
his  appetite,  and  fills  himself  with  so  much  drink  that  his 
health  is  destroyed.  As  such  matters  can  not  be  arranged 
without  money,  we  have  promised  the  cardinals,  whom  we  ex- 
pect to  bring  over,  300,000  ducats,  winch  we  shall  raise  from 
the  Fuggers,  and  make  payable  in  Rome  upon  the  appointed 
day."    ' 

These  business-like  arrangements  he  communicates,  two 
days  afterwards,  in  a  secret  letter  to  his  daughter  Margaret, 
and  already  exults  at  his  future  eminence,  both  in  this  world 
and  the  next.  "  We  are  sending  Monsieur  de  Gurce,"  he 
says,  "  to  make  an  agreement  with  the  Pope,  that  we  may  be 
taken  as  coadjutor,  in  order  that,  upon  his  death,  we  may  be 
sure  of  the  papacy,  and,  afterwards.,  of  becoming  a  saint.  After 
my  decease,  therefore,  you  will  be  constrained  to  adore  me, 
of  which  I  shall  be  very  proud.  I  am  beginning  to  work  upon 
the  cardinals,  in  which  affair  two  or  three  hundred  thousand 
ducats  will  \>e  of  great  sendee."  The  letter  was  signed, 
"  From  the  hand  of  your  good  father,  Maximilian,  future 
Pope." 

These  intrigues  are  not  destined,  however,  to  be  successful. 
Pope  Julius  lives  two  years  longer  ;  Leo  the  Tenth  succeeds  ; 
and,  as  Medici  are  not  much  prone  to  Church  reformation, 
some  other  scheme,  and  perhaps  some  other  reformer,  may  be 


LUTHER.  75 

wanted.  Meantime,  the  traffic  in  bulls  of  absolution  becomes 
more  horrible  than  ever.  Money  must  be  raised  to  supply 
the  magnificent  extravagance  of  Rome.  Accordingly,  Chris- 
tians, throughout  Europe,  are  offered  by  papal  authority, 
guarantees  of  forgiveness  for  every  imaginable  sin,  "  even  for 
the  rape  of  God's  mother,  if  that  were  possible,"  together  with 
a  promise  of  life  eternal  hi  Paradise,  all  upon  payment  of 
the  price  affixed  to  each  crime.  The  Netherlands,  like  other 
countries,  are  districted  and  farmed  for  the  collection  of  this 
j)apal  revenue.  Much  of  the  money  thus  raised,  remains  in 
the  hands  of  the  vile  collectors.  Sincere  Catholics,  who  love 
and  honor  the  ancient  religion,  shrink  with  horror  at  the 
spectacle  offered  on  every  side.  Criminals  buying  Paradise  for 
money,  monks  spending  the  money  thus  paid  in  gaming- 
houses, taverns,  and  brothels  ;  tins  seems,  to  those  who  have 
studied  their  Testaments,  a  different  scheme  of  salvation  from 
the  one  promulgated  by  Christ.  There  has  evidently  been 
a  departure  from  the  system  of  earlier  apostles.  Innocent 
conservative  souls  are  much  perplexed  ;  but,  at  last,  all  these 
infamies  arouse  a  giant  to  do  battle  with  the  giant  wrong. 
Martin  Luther  enters  the  lists,  all  alone,  armed  only  with  a 
quiver  filled  with  ninety-five  propositions,  and  a  bow  which 
can  send  them  all  over  Christendom  with  incredible  swiftness. 
Within  a  few  weeks  the  ninety-five  propositions  have  flown 
through  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Spain,  and  are  found  in 
Jerusalem. 

At  the  beginning,  Erasmus  encourages  the  bold  friar.  So 
long  as  the  axe  is  not  laid  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  which  bears 
the  poisonous  but  golden  fruit,  the  moderate  man  applauds 
the  blows.  "  Luther's  cause  is  considered  odious,"  writes 
Erasmus  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  "  because  he  has,  at  the 
same  time,  attacked  the  bellies  of  the  monks  and  the  bulls  of 
the  Pope."  He  complains  that  the  zealous  man  had  been 
attacked  with  railing,  but  not  with  arguments.  He  fore- 
sees that  the  work  will  have  a  bloody  and  turbulent  result, 
but  imputes  the  principal  blame  to  the  clergy.  "  The 
priests  talk,"   said  he,   "  of  absolution   in   such   terms,    that 


76  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

laymen  can  not  stomach  it.  Luther  has  been  for  nothing  more 
censured  than  for  making  little  of  Thomas  Aquinas  ;  for 
wishing  to  diminish  the  absolution  traffic  ;  for  having  a  low 
opinion  of  mendicant  orders,  and  for  respecting  scholastic 
opinions  less  than  the  gospels.  All  this  is  considered  intoler- 
able heresy." 

Erasmus,  however,  was  offending  both  parties.  A  swarm 
of  monks  were  already  buzzing  about  him  for  the  bold  lan- 
guage of  his  Commentaries  and  Dialogues.  He  was  called 
Errasmus  for  his  errors- — Arasmus  because  he  would  plough  up 
sacred  things — Erasmus  because  he  had  written  himself  an 
ass — Behemoth,  Antichrist,  and  many  other  names  of  similar 
import.  Luther  was  said  to  have  bought  the  deadly  seed  in 
his  barn.  The  egg  had  been  laid  by  Erasmus,  hatched  by 
Luther.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  reviled  for  not  taking 
side  manfully  with  the  reformer.  The  moderate  man  received 
much  denunciation  from  zealots  on  either  side.  He  soon 
clears  himself,  however,  from  all  suspicions  of  Lutheranism. 
He  is  appalled  at  the  fierce  conflict  which  rages  far  and  wide. 
He  becomes  querulous  as  the  mighty  besom  sweeps  away 
sacred  dust  and  consecrated  cobwebs.  "  Men  should  not 
attempt  every  thing  at  once,"  he  writes,  "  but  rather  step  by 
step.  That  which  men  can  not  improve  they  must  look  at 
through  the  fingers.  If  the  godlessness  of  mankind  requires 
such  fierce  physicians  as  Luther,  if  man  can  not  be  healed  with 
soothing  ointments  and  cooling  drinks,  let  us  hope  that  God 
will  comfort,  as  repentant,  those  whom  he  has  punished  as 
rebellious.  If  the  dove  of  Christ — not  the  owl  of  Minerva — 
would  only  fly  to  us,  some  measure  might  be  put  to  the  mad- 
ness of  mankind." 

Meantime  the  man,  whose  talk  is  not  of  doves  and  owls,  the 
fierce  physician,  who  deals  not  with  ointments  and  cooling 
draughts,  strides  past  the  crowd  of  gentle  quacks  to  smite  the 
foul  disease.  Devils,  thicker  than  tiles  on  house-tops,  scare 
him  not  from  his  work.  Bans  and  bulls,  excommunications 
and  decrees,  are  rained  upon  his  head.  The  paternal  Emperor 
sends  down  dire  edicts,  thicker  than  hail  upon  the  earth.     The 


IMPERIAL    EDICTS.  77 

Holy  Father  blasts  and  raves  from  Home.  Louvain  doctors 
denounce,  Louvain  hangmen  burn,  the  bitter,  blasphemous 
books.  The  immoderate  man  stands  firm  in  the  storm, 
demanding  argument  instead  of  illogical  thunder  ;  shows  the 
hangmen  and  the  people  too,  outside  the  Elster  gate  at 
Wittenberg,  that  papal  bulls  will  blaze  as  merrily  as  heretic 
scrolls.  What  need  of  allusion  to  events  which  changed  the 
world — which  every  child  has  learned — to  the  war  of  Titans, 
uprooting  of  hoary  trees  and  rock-ribbed  hills,  to  the  Worms 
diet,  Peasant  wars,  the  Patmos  of  Eisenach,  and  huge  wrest- 
lings with  the  Devil  ? 

Imperial  edicts  are  soon  employed  to  suppress  the  Reforma- 
tion in  the  Netherlands  by  force.  The  provinces,  unfortu- 
nately, are  the  private  property  of  Charles,  his  paternal 
inheritance  ;  and  most  paternally,  according  to  his  view  of 
the  matter,  does  he  deal  with  them.  Germany  can  not  be 
treated  thus  summarily,  not  being  his  heritage.  "As  it 
appears,"  says  the  edict  of  1521,  "  that  the  aforesaid  Martin 
is  not  a  man,  but  a  devil  under  the  form  of  a  man,  and  clothed 
in  the  dress  of  a  priest,  the  better  to  bring  the  human  race  to 
hell  and  damnation,  therefore  all  his  disciples  and  converts  are 
to  be  punished  with  death  and  forfeiture  of  all  their 
goods."  This  was  succinct  and  intelligible.  The  bloody  edict, 
issued  at  Worms,  without  even  a  pretence  of  sanction  by  the 
estates,  was  carried  into  immediate  effect.  The  papal  inqui- 
sition was  introduced  into  the  provinces  to  assist  its  operations. 
The  bloody  work,  for  which  the  reign  of  Charles  is  mainly  dis- 
tinguished in  the  Netherlands,  now  began.  In  1523,  July  1st, 
two  Augustine  monks  were  burned  at  Brussels,  the  first 
victims  to  Lutheranism  in  the  provinces.  Erasmus  observed, 
with  a  sigh,  that  "two  had  been  burned  at  Brussels,  and  that 
the  city  now  began  strenuously  to  favor  Lutheranism." 

Pope  Adrian  the  Sixth,  the  Netherland  boat-maker's  son  and 
the  Emperor's  ancient  tutor,  was  sufficiently  alive  to  the  sins 
of  churchmen.  The  humble  scholar  of  Utrecht  was,  at  least, 
no  Borgia.  At  the  diet  of  Nuremberg,  summoned  to  put 
down  Luther,  the  honest  Pope  declared  roundly,  through  the 


78  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

Bishop  of  Fabriane,  that  "these  disorders  had  sprang  from 
the  sins  of  men,  more  especially  from  the  sins  of  priests  and 
prelates.  Even  in  the  holy  chair,"  said  he,  "many  horrible 
crimes  have  been  committed.  Many  abuses  have  grown  up  in 
the  ecclesiastical  state.  The  contagious  disease,  spreading 
from  the  head  to  the  members — from  the  Pope  to  lesser  pre- 
lates— has  spread  far  and  wide,  so  that  scarcely  any  one  is  to 
be  found  who  does  right,  and  who  is  free  from  infection. 
Nevertheless,  the  evils  have  become  so  ancient  and  manifold, 
that  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  step  by  step." 

In  those  passionate  days,  the  ardent  reformers  were  as  much 
outraged  by  this  pregnant  confession  as  the  ecclesiastics.  It 
would  indeed  be  a  slow  process,  they  thought,  to  move  step  by 
step  in  the  Keformation,  if  between  each  step,  a  whole  century 
was  to  intervene.  In  vain  did  the  gentle  pontiff  call  upon  Eras- 
mus to  assuage  the  stormy  sea  with  his  smooth  rhetoric.  The 
Sage  of  Kotterdam  was  old  and  sickly  ;  his  day  was  over. 
Adrian's  head,  too,  languishes  beneath  the  triple  crown  but 
twenty  months.  He  dies  13th  Sept.,  1523,  having  arrived 
at  the  conviction,  according  to  his  epitaph,  that  the  greatest 
misfortune  of  his  life  was  to  have  reigned. 

Another  edict,  published  in  the  Netherlands,  forbids  all 
private  assemblies  for  devotion  ;  all  reading  of  the  scriptures  ; 
all  discussions  within  one's  own  doors  concerning  faith,  the 
sacraments,  the  papal  authority,  or  other  religious  matter, 
under  penalty  of  death.  The  edicts  were  no  dead  letter.  The 
fires  were  kept  constantly  supplied  with  human  fuel  by  monks, 
who  knew  the  art  of  burning  reformers  better  than  that  of 
arguing  with  them.  The  scaffold  was  the  most  conclusive  of 
syllogisms,  and  used  upon  all  occasions.  Still  the  people 
remained  unconvinced.  Thousands  of  burned  heretics  had 
not  made  a  single  convert. 

A  fresh  edict  renewed  and  sharpened  the  punishment  for 
reading  the  scriptures  in  private  or  public.  At  the  same  time, 
the  violent  personal  altercation  between  Luther  and  Erasmus, 
upon  predestination,  together  with  the  bitter  dispute  between 
Luther  and  Zwingli  concerning  the  real  presence,  did  more  to 


AITABAPTISTICAL    EXCESSES.  79 

impede  the  progress  of  the  Keformation  than  ban  or  edict, 
sword  or  fire.  The  spirit  of  humanity  hung  her  head,  finding 
that  the  bold  reformer  had  only  a  new  dogma  in  place  of  the 
old  ones,  seeing  that  dissenters,  in  their  turn,  were  sometimes 
as  ready  as  papists,  with  axe,  fagot,  and  excommunication.  In 
1526,  Felix  Mants,  the  anabaptist,  is  drowned  at  Zurich,  in 
obedience  to  Zwingli's  j>ithy  formula — Qui  iterum  mergit  mer- 
gatur.  Thus  the  anabaptists,  upon  their  first  appearance,  were 
exposed  to  the  fires  of  the  Church  and  the  water  of  the  Zwin- 
glians. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  anabaptist  delusion  was  so 
ridiculous  and  so  loathsome,  as  to  palliate  or  at  least  render 
intelligible  the  wrath  with  which  they  were  regarded  by  all 
parties.  The  turbulence  of  the  sect  was  alarming  to  consti- 
tuted authorities,  its  bestiality  disgraceful  to  the  cause  of 
religious  reformation.  The  leaders  were  among  the  most 
depraved  of  human  creatures,  as  much  distinguished  for 
licentiousness,  blasphemy  and  cruelty  as  their  followers  for 
grovelling  superstition.  The  evil  spirit,  driven  out  of  Luther, 
seemed,  in  orthodox  eyes,  to  have  taken  possession  of  a  herd  of 
swine.  The  Germans,  Muncer  and  Hoffmann,  had  been  suc- 
ceeded, as  chief  prophets,  by  a  Dutch  baker,  named  Matthis- 
zoon,  of  Harlem  ;  who  announced  himself  as  Enoch.  Chief  of 
this  man's  disciples  was  the  notorious  John  Boccold,  of  Leyden. 
Under  the  government  of  this  prophet,  the  anabaptists 
mastered  the  city  of  Minister.  Here  they  confiscated  prop- 
erty, plundered  churches,  violated  females,  murdered  men 
who  refused  to  join  the  gang,  and,  in  brief,  practised  all  the 
enormities  which  humanity  alone  can  conceive  or  perpetrate. 
The  prophet  proclaimed  himself  King  of  Sion,  and  sent  out 
apostles  to  preach  his  doctrines  in  G-ermtmy  and  the  Nether- 
lands. Polygamy  being  a  leading  article  of  the  system,  he 
exemplified  the  principle  by  marrying  fourteen  wives.  Of 
these,  the  beautiful  widow  of  Matthiszoon  was  chief,  was  called 
the  Queen  of  Sion,  and  wore  a  golden  crown.  The  prophet 
made  many  fruitless  efforts  to  seize  Amsterdam  and  Leyden. 
The  armed  invasion  of  the  anabaptists  was  repelled,  but  their 


80  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

contagious    madness    spread.      The    plague    broke    forth    in 

Amsterdam.      On   a   cold   winter's    night,  (February,  1535), 

/  seven  men  and  five  women,  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  threw 

off   their  clothes  and   rushed   naked  and  raving  through  the 

streets,  shrieking  "  Wo,  wo,  wo  !   the  wrath  of  God,  the  wrath 

I  of  God  !"    When  arrested,  they  obstinately  refused  to  put  on 

I  clothing.     "  We  are,"  they  observed,  "  the  naked  truth."     In 

I  a  day  or  two,  these  furious  lunatics,  who  certainly  deserved  a 

madhouse  rather  than   the  scaffold,  were  all  executed.     The 

numbers  of  the  sect  increased  with  the  martyrdom  to  which 

they  were  exposed,  and  the  disorder  spread  to  every  part  of 

the    Netherlands.     Many   were    put    to    death    in    lingering 

torments,  but    no    perceptible    effect    was    produced    by  the 

chastisement.      Meantime    the    great   chief    of    the  sect,  the 

prophet  John,  was  defeated  by  the   forces  of  the  Bishop  of 

Minister,  who   recovered   his  city  and  caused  the   "  King  of 

Sion"  to  be  pinched  to  death  with  red-hot  tongs. 

Unfortunately  the  severity  of  government  was  not  wreaked 
alone  upon  the  prophet  and  his  mischievous  crew.  Thousands 
and  ten-thousands  of  virtuous,  well-disposed  men  and  women, 
who  had  as  little  sympathy  with  anabaptistical  as  with  Roman 
depravity,  were  butchered  in  cold  blood,  under  the  sanguinary 
rule  of  Charles,  in  the  Netherlands.  In  1533,  Queen  Dowager 
Mary  of  Hungary,  sister  of  the  Emperor,  Regent  of  the 
provinces,  the  "  Christian  widow"  admired  by  Erasmus,  wrote 
to  her  brother  that  "in  her  opinion  all  heretics,  whether 
repentant  or  not,  should  be  prosecuted  with  such  severity  as 
that  error  might  be,  at  once,  extinguished,  care  being  only 
taken  that  the  provinces  were  not  entirely  depopulated."  With 
this  humane  limitation,  the  "  Christian  Widow"  cheerfully  set 
herself  to  superintend  as  foul  and  wholesale  a  system  of  murder 
as  was  ever  organized.  In  1535,  an  imperial  edict  was  issued 
at  Brussels,  condemning  all  heretics  to  death  ;  repentant  males 
to  be  executed  with  the  sword,  repentant  females  to  be  buried 
alive,  the  obstinate,  of  both  sexes,  to  be  burned.  This  and 
similar  edicts  were  the  law  of  the  land  for  twenty  years,  and 
rigidly  enforced.      Imperial  and  papal  persecution  continued 


INSTITUTIONS   IN   THEIR   LAST    FORM.  81 

its  daily  deadly  work  with  such  diligence  as  to  make  it  doubt- 
ful whether  the  limits  set  by  the  Kegent  Mary  might  not  be 
overstepped.  In  the  midst  of  the  carnage,  the  Emperor  sent 
for  his  son  Philip,  that  he  might  receive  the  fealty  of  the 
Netherlands  as  their  future  lord  and  master.  Contempora- 
neously, a  new  edict  was  published  at  Brussels  (29th  April, 
1549),  confirming  and  re-enacting  all  previous  decrees  in  their 
most  severe  provisions.  Thus  stood  religious  matters  in  the 
Netherlands  at  the  epoch  of  the  imperial  abdication. 

XIII. 

The  civil  institutions  of  the  country  had  assumed  their  last 
provincial  form,  in  the  Burgundo -Austrian  epoch.  As  already 
stated,  their  tendency,  at  a  later  period  a  vicious  one,  was  to 
substitute  fictitious  personages  for  men.  A  chain  of  cor- 
porations was  wound  about  the  liberty  of  the  Netherlands  ;  yet 
that  liberty  had  been  originally  sustained  by  the  system  in 
which  it,  one  day,  might  be  strangled.  The  spirit  of  local 
self-government,  always  the  life-blood  of  liberty,  was  often 
excessive  in  its  manifestations.  The  centrifugal  force  had 
been  too  much  developed,  and,  combining  with  the  mutual 
jealousy  of  corporations,  had  often  made  the  nation  weak 
against  a  common  foe.  Instead  of  popular  rights  there  were 
state  rights,  for  the  large  cities,  with  extensive  districts  and 
villages  under  their  government,  were  rather  petty  states  than 
municipalities.  Although  the  supreme  legislative  and  execu- 
tive functions  belonged  to  the  sovereign,  yet  each  city  made 
its  by-laws,  and  possessed,  beside,  a  body  of  statutes  and 
regulations,  made  from  time  to  time  by  its  own  authority  and 
confirmed  by  the  prince.  Thus  a  largo  portion,  at  least,  of 
the  nation  shared  practically  in  the  legislative  functions,  which, 
technically,  it  did  not  claim  ;  nor  had  the  requirements  of 
society  made  constant  legislation  so  necessary,  as  that  to 
exclude  the  people  from  the  work  was  to  enslave  the  country. 
There  was  popular  power  enough  to  effect  much  good,  but  it 
was  widely  scattered,  and,  at  the  same  time,  confined  in 
artificial  forms.     The  guilds  were  vassals  of  the  towns,  the 

vol.  i.  6 


82  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

towns,  vassals  of  the  feudal  lord.  The  guild  voted  in  the 
"  broad  council"  of  the  city  as  one  person  ;  the  city  voted  in 
the  estates  as  one  person.  The  people  of  the  United  Nether- 
lands was  the  personage  yet  to  be  invented.  It  was  a  priv- 
ilege, not  a  right,  to  exercise  a  handiwork,  or  to  participate  in 
the  action  of  government.  Yet  the  mass  of  privileges  was  so 
large,  the  shareholders  so  numerous,  that  practically  the  towns 
were  republics.  The  government  was  in  the  hands  of  a  large 
number  of  the  people.  Industry  and  intelligence  led  to  wealth 
and  power.  This  was  great  progress  from  the  general  serv- 
itude of  the  11  th  and  12th  centuries,  an  immense  barrier 
against  arbitrary  rule.  Loftier  ideas  of  human  rights,  larger 
conceptions  of  commerce,  have  taught  mankind,  in  later 
days,  the  difference  between  liberties  and  liberty,  between 
guilds  and  free  competition.  At  the  same  time  it  was  the 
principle  of  mercantile  association,  in  the  middle  ages,  which 
protected  the  infant  steps  of  human  freedom  and  human 
industiy  against  violence  and  wrong.  Moreover,  at  this 
period,  the  tree  of  municipal  life  was  still  green  and  vigorous. 
The  healthful  flow  of  sap  from  the  humblest  roots  to  the  most 
verdurous  branches  indicated  the  internal  soundness  of  the 
core,  and  provided  for  the  constant  development  of  exterior 
strength.  The  road  to  political  influence  was  open  to  all, 
not  by  right  of  birth,  but  through  honorable  exertion  of  heads 
and  hands. 

The  chief  city  of  the  Netherlands,  the  commercial  capital  of 
the  world,  was  Antwerp.  In  the  North  and  East  of  Europe, 
the  Hanseatic  league  had  withered  with  the  revolution  in  com- 
merce. At  the  South,  the  splendid  marble  channels,  through 
which  the  overland  India  trade  had  been  conducted  from  the 
Mediterranean  by  a  few  stately  cities,  were  now  dry,  the  great 
aqueducts  ruinous  and  deserted.  Verona,  Venice,  Nuremberg, 
Augsburg,  Bruges,  were  sinking,  but  Antwerp,  with  its  deep 
and  convenient  river,  stretched  its  arm  to  the  ocean  and  caught 
the  golden  prize,  as  it  fell  from  its  sister  cities'  grasp.  The 
city  was  so  ancient  that  its  genealogists,  with  ridiculous 
gravity,  ascended  to  a  period  two  centuries  before  the  Trojan 


ANTWERP.  83 

war,  and  discovered  a  giant,  rejoicing  in  the  classic  name  of 
Antigonus,  established  on  the  Scheld.  This  patriarch  exacted 
one  half  the  merchandise  of  all  navigators  who  passed  his 
castle,  and  was  accustomed  to  amputate  and  cast  into  the  river 
the  right  hands  of  those  who  infringed  this  simple  tariff.  Thus 
Hand-iveipen,  hand-throwing,  became  Antwerp,  and  hence,  two 
hands,  in  the  escutcheon  of  the  city,  were  ever  held  up  in 
heraldic  attestation  of  the  truth.  The  giant  was,  in  his  turn, 
thrown  into  the  Scheld  by  a  hero,  named  Brabo,  from  whose 
exploits  Brabant  derived  its  name  ;  "  de  quo  Brabonica  tellus." 
But  for  these  antiquarian  researches,  a  simpler  derivation  of 
the  name  would  seem  an  t'  loerf,  "on  the  wharf."  It  had 
now  become  the  principal  entrepot  and  exchange  of  Europe. 
The  Fuggers,  Velsens,  Ostetts,  of  Germany,  the  Gualterotti  and 
Bonvisi  of  Italy,  and  many  other  great  mercantile  houses  were 
there  established.  No  city,  except  Paris,  surpassed  it  in 
population,  none  approached  it  in  commercial  splendor.  Its 
government  was  very  free.  The  sovereign,  as  Marquis  of 
Antwerp,  was  solemnly  sworn  to  govern  according  to  the 
ancient  charters  and  laws.  The  stadholder,  as  his  repre- 
sentative, shared  his  authority  with  the  four  estates  of  the  city. 
The  Senate  of  eighteen  members  was  appointed  by  the  stad- 
holder out  of  a  quadruple  number  nominated  by  the  Senate 
itself  and  by  the  fourth  body,  called  the  Borgery.  Half  the 
board  was  thus  renewed  annually.  It  exercised  executive  and 
appellate  judicial  functions,  appointed  two  burgomasters,  and 
two  pensionaries  or  legal  councillors,  and  also  selected  the  lesser 
magistrates  and  officials  of  the  city.  The  board  of  ancients  or 
ex-senators,  held  their  seats  ex  officio.  The  twenty-six  ward 
masters,  appointed,  two  from  each  ward,  by  the  Senate  on 
nomination  by  the  wards,  formed  the  third  estate.  Their 
especial  business  was  to  enrol  the  militia  and  to  attend  to  its 
mustering  and  training.  The  deans  of  the  guilds,  fifty-four  in 
number,  two  from  each  guild,  selected  by  the  Senate,  from  a 
triple  list  of  candidates  presented  by  the  guilds,  composed  the 
fourth  estate.  This  influential  body  was  always  assembled  in 
the  broad-council   of  the   city.     Their  duty  was  likewise  to 


84  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

conduct  the  examination  of  candidates  claiming  admittance  to 
any  guild  and  offering  specimens  of  art  or  handiwork,  to 
superintend  the  general  affairs  of  the  guilds  and  to  regulate 
disputes. 

There  were  also  two  important  functionaries,  representing 
the  king  in  criminal  and  civil  matters.  The  Vicarius  capitalis, 
Scultetus,  Schout,  Sheriff',  or  Margrave,  took  precedence  of 
all  magistrates.  His  business  was  to  superintend  criminal 
arrests,  trials,  and  executions.  The  Vicarius  civilis  was  called 
the  Amman,  and  his  office  corresponded  with  that  of  the  Podesta 
in  the  Frisian  and  Italian  republics.  His  duties  were  nearly 
similar,  in  civil,  to  those  of  his  colleague,  in  criminal  matters. 

These  four  branches,  with  their  functionaries  and  dependents, 
composed  the  commonwealth  of  Antwerp.  Assembled  to- 
gether in  council,  they  constituted  the  great  and  general  court. 
No  tax  could  be  imposed  by  the  sovereign,  except  with  consent 
of  the  four  branches,  all  voting  separately. 

The  personal  and  domiciliary  rights  of  the  citizen  were 
scrupulously  guarded.  The  Schout  could  only  make  arrests 
with  the  Burgomaster's  warrant,  and  was  obliged  to  bring  the 
accused,  within  three  days,  before  the  judges,  whose  courts 
were  open  to  the  public. 

The  condition  of  the  population  was  prosperous.  There 
were  but  few  poor,  and  those  did  not  seek  but  were  sought  by 
the  almoners.  The  schools  were  excellent  and  cheap.  It  was 
difficult  to  find  a  child  of  sufficient  age  who  could  not  read, 
write,  and  speak,  at  least,  two  languages.  The  sons  of  the 
wealthier  citizens  completed  their  education  at  Louvain,  Douay, 
Paris,  or  Padua. 

The  city  itself  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Europe. 
Placed  upon  a  plain  along  the  banks  of  the  Schcld,  shaped 
like  a  bent  bow  with  the  river  for  its  string,  it  enclosed  within 
it  walls  some  of  the  most  splendid  edifices  in  Christendom. 
The  world-renowned  church  of  Notre  Dame,  the  stately  Ex- 
change where  five  thousand  merchants  daily  congregated,  pro- 
totype of  all  similar  establishments  throughout  the  world,  the 
capacious  mole  and  port  where   twenty-five  hundred  vessels 


ESTATES-GENERAL — EDUCATION.  85 

were  often  seen  at  once,  and  where  five  hundred  made  their 
daily  entrance  or  departure,  were  all  establishments  which  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  rival  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world. 

From  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  municipal  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  powers  of  the 
Estates-general  were  limited.  The  members  of  that  congress 
were  not  representatives  chosen  by  the  people,  but  merely  a  few 
ambassadors  from  individual  provinces.  This  individuality  was 
not  always  composed  of  the  same  ingredients.  Thus,  Holland 
consisted  of  two  members,  or  branches — the  nobles  and  the  six 
chief  cities  ;  Flanders  of  four  branches — the  cities,  namely,  of 
Ghent,  Bruges,  Ypres,  and  the  "freedom  of  Bruges;"  Brabant 
of  Louvain,  Brussels,  Bois  le  Due,  and  Antwerp,  four  great 
cities,  without  representation  of  nobility  or  clergy  ;  Zeland,  of 
one  clerical  person,  the  abbot  of  Middelburg,  one  noble,  the 
Marquis  of  Veer  and  Vliessingen,  and  six  chief  cities  ;  Utrecht, 
of  three  branches — the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  five  cities. 
These,  and  other  provinces,  constituted  in  similar  manner, 
were  supposed  to  be  actually  present  at  the  diet  when 
assembled.  The  chief  business  of  the  states-general  was  finan- 
cial ;  the  sovereign,  or  his  stadholder,  only  obtaining  supplies 
by  making  a  request  in  person,  while  any  single  city,  as  branch 
of  a  province,  had  a  right  to  refuse  the  grant. 

XIII. 

Education  had  felt  the  onward  movement  of  the  country  and 
the  times.  The  whole  system  was,  however,  pervaded  by  the 
monastic  spirit,  which  had  originally  preserved  all  learning 
from  annihilation,  but  which  now  kept  it  wrapped  in  the  an- 
cient cerecloths,  and  stiffening  in  the  stony  sarcophagus  of  a 
bygone  age.  The  university  of  Louvain  was  the  chief  literary 
institution  in  the  provinces.  It  had  been  established  in  1423 
by  Duke  John  IV.  of  Brabant.  Its  government  consisted  of 
a  President  and  Senate,  forming  a  close  corporation,  which  had 
received  from  the  founder  all  his  own  authority,  and  the  right 
to  supply  their   own  vacancies.      The   five  faculties  of   law, 


86  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

canon  law,  medicine,  theology,  and  the  arts,  were  cultivated 
at  the  institution.  There  was,  besides,  a  high  school  for  under 
graduates,  divided  into  four  classes.  The  place  reeked  with 
pedantry,  and  the  character  of  the  university  naturally  diffused 
itself  through  other  scholastic  establishments.  Nevertheless, 
it  had  done  and  was  doing  much  to  preserve  the  love  for  pro- 
found learning,  while  the  rapidly  advancing  spirit  of  commerce 
was  attended  by  an  ever  increasing  train  of  humanizing  arts. 

The  standard  of  culture  in  those  flourishing  cities  was 
elevated,  compared  with  that  observed  in  many  parts  of  Europe. 
The  children  of  the  wealthier  classes  enjoyed  great  facilities  for 
education  in  all  the  great  capitals.  The  classics,  music,  and 
the  modern  languages,  particularly  the  French,  were  universally 
cultivated.  Nor  was  intellectual  cultivation  confined  to  the 
higher  orders.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  diffused  to  a  remark- 
able degree  among  the  hard-working  artisans  and  handicrafts- 
men of  the  great  cities. 

For  the  principle  of  association  had  not  confined  itself  exclu- 
sively to  politics  and  trade.  Besides  the  nmnerous  guilds  by 
which  citizenship  was  acquired  in  the  various  cities,  were  many 
other  societies  for  mutual  improvement,  support,  or  recreation. 
The  great  secret,  architectural  or  masonic  brotherhood  of  Ger- 
many, that  league  to  which  the  artistic  and  patient  completion 
of  the  magnificent  works  of  Gothic  architecture  in  the  middle 
ages  is  mainly  to  be  attributed,  had  its  branches  in  nether 
Germany,  and  explains  the  presence  of  so  many  splendid  and 
elaborately  finished  churches  in  the  provinces.  There  were 
also  military  sodalities  of  musketeers,  cross-bowmen,  archers, 
swordsmen  in  every  town.  Once  a  year  these  clubs  kept 
holiday,  choosing  a  king,  who  was  selected  for  his  prowess  and 
skill  in  the  use  of  various  weapons.  These  festivals,  always 
held  with  great  solemnity  and  rejoicing,  were  accompanied  by 
many  exhibitions  of  archery  and  swordsmanship.  The  people 
were  not  likely,  therefore,  voluntarily  to  abandon  that  privilege 
and  duty  of  freemen,  the  right  to  bear  arms,  and  the  power  to 
handle  them. 

Another  and  most  important  collection  of  brotherhoods  were 


GUILDS   OF   RHETORIC.  87 

the  so-called  guilds  of  Rhetoric,  which  existed,  in  greater  or 
less  number,  in  all  the  principal  cities.  These  were  associations 
of  mechanics,  for  the  purpose  of  amusing  their  leisure  with 
poetical  effusions,  dramatic  and  musical  exhibitions,  theatrical 
processions,  and  other  harmless  and  not  inelegant  recreations. 
Such  chambers  of  rhetoric  came  originally  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury from  France.  The  fact  that  in  their  very  title  they  con- 
founded rhetoric  with  poetry  and  the  drama  indicates  the  meagre 
attainments  of  these  early  "  Rederykers."  In  the  outset  of  their 
career  they  gave  theatrical  exhibitions.  "  King  Herod  and 
his  Deeds"  was  enacted  in  the  cathedral  at  Utrecht  in  1418. 
The  associations  spread  with  great  celerity  throughout  the 
Netherlands,  and,  as  they  were  all  connected  with  each  other, 
and  in  habits  of  periodical  intercourse,  these  humble  links  of 
literature  were  of  great  value  in  drawing  the  people  of  the 
provinces  into  closer  union.  They  became,  likewise,  important 
political  engines.  As  early  as  the  time  of  Philip  the  Good, 
their  songs  and  lampoons  became  so  offensive  to  the  arbitrary 
notions  of  the  Burgundian  government,  as  to  cause  the  societies 
to  be  prohibited.  It  was,  however,  out  of  the  sovereign's 
power  permanently  to  suppress  institutions,  which  already  par- 
took of  the  character  of  the  modern  periodical  press  combined 
with  functions  resembling  the  show  and  licence  of  the 
Athenian  drama.  Viewed  from  the  stand-point  of  literary 
criticism  their  productions  were  not  very  commendable  in  taste, 
conception,  or  execution.  To  torture  the  Muses  to  madness,  to 
wire-draw  poetry  through  inextricable  coils  of  difficult  rhymes 
and  impossible  measures  ;  to  hammer  one  golden  grain  of  wit 
into  a  sheet  of  infinite  platitude,  with  frightful  ingenuity  to 
construct  ponderous  anagrams  and  preternatural  acrostics,  to 
dazzle  the  vulgar  eye  with  tawdry  costumes,  and  to  tickle  tho 
vulgar  ear  with  virulent  personalities,  were  tendencies  which 
perhaps  smacked  of  the  hammer,  the  yard-stick  and  the  pincers, 
and  gave  sufficient  proof,  had  proof  been  necessary,  that 
literature  is  not  one  of  the  mechanical  arts,  and  that  poetry 
can  not  be  manufactured  to  a  profit  by  joint  stock  companies. 
Yetj  if  the  style  of  these   lucubrations  was   often   depraved, 


88  THE   RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

tlie  artisans  rarely  received  a  better  example  from  the  literary 
institutions  above  them.  It  was  not  for  guilds  of  mechanics 
to  give  the  tone  to  literature,  nor  were  their  efforts  in  more 
execrable  taste  than  the  emanations  from  the  pedants  of 
Louvain.  The  "  Rhetoricians"  are  not  responsible  for  all  the 
bad  taste  of  their  generation.  The  gravest  historians  of  the 
Netherlands  often  relieved  their  elephantine  labors  by  the 
most  asinine  gambols,  and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  these 
'bustling  weavers  and  cutlers  should  excel  their  literary  supe- 
riors in  taste  or  elegance. 

Philip  the  Fair  enrolled  himself  as  a  member  in  one  of  these 
societies.  It  may  easily  be  inferred,  therefore,  that  they  had 
already  become  bodies  of  recognized  importance.  The  rhetori- 
cal chambers  existed  in  the  most  obscure  villages.  The  number 
of  yards  of  Flemish  poetry  annually  manufactured  and  con- 
sumed throughout  the  provinces  almost  exceed  belief.  The 
societies  had  regular  constitutions.  Their  presiding  officers 
were  called  kings,  princes,  captains,  archdeacons,  or  rejoiced 
in  similar  high-sounding  names.  Each  chamber  had  its  treas- 
urer, its  buffoon,  and  its  standard-bearer  for  public  processions. 
Each  had  its  peculiar  title  or  blazon,  as  the  Lily,  the  Mari- 
gold, or  the  Violet,  with  an  appropriate  motto.  By  the  year 
1493,  the  associations  had  become  so  important,  that  Philip 
the  Fair  summoned  them  all  to  a  general  assembly  at  Mech- 
lin. Here  they  were  organized,  and  formally  incorporated 
under  the  general  supervision  of  an  upper  or  mother-society  of 
Rhetoric,  consisting  of  fifteen  members,  and  called  by  the  title 
of  "  Jesus  with  the  balsam  flower." 

The  sovereigns  were  always  anxious  to  conciliate  these  in- 
fluential guilds  by  becoming  members  of  them  in  person. 
Like  the  players,  the  Rhetoricians  were  the  brief  abstract  and 
chronicle  of  the  time,  and  neither  prince  nor  private  person 
desired  their  ill  report.  It  had,  indeed,  been  Philip's  intention 
to  convert  them  into  engines  for  the  arbitrary  purposes  of  Ins 
house,  but  fortunately  the  publicly  organized  societies  were  not 
the  only  chambers.  On  the  contrary,  the  unchartered  guilds 
were  the  most  numerous  and  influential.      They  exercised  a 


LAND-JEWELS.  89 

vast  influence  upon  the  progress  of  the  religious  reformation, 
and  the  subsequent  revolt  of  the  Netherlands.  They  ridiculed, 
with  their  farces  and  their  satires,  the  vices  of  the  clergy. 
They  dramatized  tyranny  for  public  execration.  It  was  also 
not  surprising,  that  among  the  leaders  of  the  wild  anabaptists 
who  disgraced  the  great  revolution  in  church  and  state  by  their 
hideous  antics,  should  be  found  many  who,  like  David  of  Delft, 
John  of  Leyden,  and  others,  had  been  members  of  rhetorical 
chambers.  The  genius  for  mummery  and  theatrical  exhibi- 
tions, transplanted  from  its  sphere,  and  exerting  itself  for 
purposes  of  fraud  and  licentiousness,  was  as  baleful  in  its 
effects  as  it  was  healthy  in  its  original  manifestations.  Such 
exhibitions  were  but  the  excrescences  of  a  system  which  had 
borne  good  fruit.  These  literary  guilds  befitted  and  denoted  a 
people  which  was  alive,  a  people  which  had  neither  sunk  to 
sleep  in  the  lap  of  material  prosperity,  nor  abased  itself  in  the 
sty  of  ignorance  and  political  servitude.  The  spirit  of  liberty 
pervaded  these  rude  but  not  illiterate  assemblies,  and  her  fair 
proportions  were  distinctly  visible,  even  through  the  somewhat 
grotesque  garb  which  she  thus  assumed. 

The  great  leading  recreations  which  these  chambers  afforded 
to  themselves  and  the  public,  were  the  periodic  jubilees  which 
they  celebrated  in  various  capital  cities.  All  the  guilds  of 
rhetoric  throughout  the  Netherlands  were  then  invited  to 
partake  and  to  compete  in  magnificent  processions,  brilliant 
costumes,  living  pictures,  charades,  and  other  animated,  glit- 
tering groups,  and  in  trials  of  dramatic  and  poetic  skill,  all 
arranged  under  the  superintendence  cf  the  particular  associa- 
tion which,  in  the  preceding  year,  had  borne  away  the  prize. 
Such  jubilees  were  called  "  Land-jewels." 

From  the  amusements  of  a  people  may  be  gathered  much 
that  is  necessary  for  a  proper  estimation  of  its  character.  No 
unfavorable  opinion  can  be  formed  as  to  the  culture  of  a  na- 
tion, whose  weavers,  smiths,  gardeners,  and  traders,  found  the 
favorite  amusement  of  their  holidays  in  composing  and  enact- 
ing tragedies  or  farces,  reciting  their  own  verses,  or  in  personi- 
fying moral  and  aesthetic  sentiments  by  ingeniously-arranged 


90  THE   RISE   OP   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

groups,  or  gorgeous  habiliments.  The  cramoisy  velvets  and 
yellow  satin  doublets  of  the  court,  the  gold-brocaded  mantles 
of  priests  and  princes  are  often  but  vulgar  drapery  of  little  his- 
toric worth.  Such  costumes  thrown  around  the  swart  figures 
of  hard-working  artisans,  for  literary  and  artistic  purposes,  have 
a  real  significance,  and  are  worthy  of  a  closer  examination. 
Were  not  these  amusements  of  the  Netherlander  as  elevated 
and  humanizing  as  the  contemporary  bull-fights  and  autos- 
da-fe  of  Spain  ?  What  place  in  history  does  the  gloomy  bigot 
merit  who,  for  the  love  of  Christ,  converted  all  these  gay  cities 
into  shambles,  and  changed  the  glittering  processions  of  their 
Land-jewels  into  fettered  marches  to  the  scaffold  ? 

Thus  fifteen  ages  have  passed  away,  and  in  the  place  of  a 
horde  of  savages,  living  among  swamps  and  thickets,  swarm 
three  millions  of  people,  the  most  industrious,  the  most  pros- 
perous, perhaps  the  most  intelligent  under  the  sun.  Their 
cattle,  grazing  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  are  the  finest  in 
Europe,  their  agricultural  products  of  more  exchangeable 
value  than  if  nature  had  made  their  land  to  overflow  with 
wine  and  oil.  Their  navigators  are  the  boldest,  their  mercan- 
tile marine  the  most  powerful,  their  merchants  the  most  enter- 
prising in  the  world.  Holland  and  Flanders,  peopled  by  one 
race,  vie  with  each  other  in  the  pursuits  of  civilization.  The 
Flemish  skill  in  the  mechanical  and  in  the  fine  arts  is  un- 
rivalled. Belgian  musicians  delight  and  instruct  other  nations, 
Belgian  pencils  have,  for  a  century,  caused  the  canvas  to  glow 
with  colors  and  combinations  never  seen  before.  Flemish 
fabrics  are  exported  to  all  parts  of  Europe,  to  the  East  and 
West  Indies,  to  Africa.  The  splendid  tapestries,  silks,  linens, 
as  well  as  the  more  homely  and  useful  manufactures  of  the 
Netherlands,  are  prized  throughout  the  world.  Most  in- 
genious, as  they  had  already  been  described  by  the  keen-eyed 
Cassar,  in  imitating  the  arts  of  other  nations,  the  skillful  arti- 
ficers of  the  country  at  Louvain,  Ghent,  and  other  places, 
reproduce  the  shawls  and  silks  of  India  with  admirable 
accuracy. 

Their   national    industry   was  untiring ;    their   prosperity 


RESULTS.  91 

unexampled  ;  their  love  of  liberty  indomitable  ;  their  pugnacity 
proverbial.  Peaceful  in  their  pursuits,  phlegmatic  by  tempera- 
ment, the  Netherlands  were  yet  the  most  belligerent  and 
excitable  population  of  Europe.  Two  centuries  of  civil  war 
had  but  thinned  the  ranks  of  each  generation  without 
quenching  the  hot  spirit  of  the  nation. 

The  women  were  distinguished  by  beauty  of  form  and  vigor 
of  constitution.  Accustomed  from  childhood  to  converse 
freely  with  all  classes  and  sexes  in  the  daily  walks  of  life,  and 
to  travel  on  foot  or  horseback  from  one  town  to  another, 
without  escort  and  without  fear,  they  had  acquired  manners 
more  frank  and  independent  than  those  of  women  in  other 
lands,  while  their  morals  were  pure  and  their  decorum  un- 
doubted. The  prominent  part  to  be  sustained  by  the  women 
of  Holland  in  many  dramas  of  the  revolution  would  thus  fitly 
devolve  upon  a  class,  enabled  by  nature  and  education  to  con- 
duct themselves  with  courage. 

Within  the  little  circle  which  encloses  the  seventeen  prov- 
inces are  208  walled  cities,  many  of  them  among  the  most 
stately  in  Christendom,  150  chartered  towns,  6,30G  villages, 
with  their  watch-towers  and  steeples,  besides  numerous  other 
more  insignificant  hamlets  ;  the  whole  guarded  by  a  belt  of 
sixty  fortresses  of  surpassing  strength. 

XIV. 

Thus  in  this  rapid  sketch  of  the  course  and  development  of 
the  Netherland  nation  durino;  sixteen  centuries,  we  have  seen 
it  ever  marked  by  one  prevailing  characteristic,  one  master 
passion — the  love  of  liberty,  the  instinct  of  self-government. 
Largely  compounded  of  the  bravest  Teutonic  elements,  Batavian 
and  Frisian,  the  race  ever  battles  to  the  death  with  tyranny, 
organizes  extensive  revolts  in  the  age  of  Vespasian,  main- 
tains a  partial  independence  even  against  the  sagacious 
dominion  of  Charlemagne,  refuses  in  Friesland  to  accept  the 
papal  yoke  or  feudal  chain,  and,  throughout  the  dark  ages, 
struggles  resolutely  towards  the  light,  wresting  from  a  series  of 
petty  sovereigns  a  gradual  and  practical  recognition  of  the 


92  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 

claims  of  humanity.  "With  the  advent  of  the  Burgundian 
family,  the  power  of  the  commons  has  reached  so  high  a  point, 
that  it  is  able  to  measure  itself,  undaunted,  with  the  spirit  of 
arbitrary  rule,  of  which  that  engrossing  and  tyrannical  house 
is  the  embodiment.  For  more  than  a  century  the  struggle  for 
freedom,  for  civic  life,  goes  on  ;  Philip  the  Good,  Charles  the 
Bold,  Mary's  husband  Maximilian,  Charles  V.,  in  turn,  assail- 
ing or  undermining  the  bulwarks  raised,  age  after  age,  against 
the  despotic  principle.  The  combat  is  ever  renewed.  Liberty, 
often  crushed,  rises  again  and  again  from  her  native  earth 
with  redoubled  energy.  At  last,  in  the  16th  century,  a  new 
and  more  j)owerful  s])irit,  the  genius  of  religious  freedom, 
comes  to  participate  in  the  great  conflict.  Arbitrary  power, 
incarnated  in  the  second  Charlemagne,  assails  the  new  combi- 
nation with  unscrupulous,  unforgiving  fierceness.  Venerable 
civic  magistrates,  haltered,  grovel  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  ; 
innocent,  religious  reformers  burn  in  holocausts.  By  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century,  the  battle  rages  more  fiercely  than  ever. 
In  the  little  Netherland  territory,  Humanity,  bleeding  but  not 
lolled,  still  stands  at  bay  and  defies  the  hunters.  The  two 
great  powers  have  been  gathering  strength  for  centuries. 
They  are  soon  to  be  matched  in  a  longer  and  more  determined 
combat  than  the  world  had  ever  seen.  The  emperor  is  about 
to  leave  the  stage.  The  provinces,  so  passionate  for  nation- 
ality, for  municipal  freedom,  for  religious  reformation,  are  to 
become  the  property  of  an  utter  stranger  ;  a  prince  foreign  to 
their  blood,  their  tongue,  their  religion,  their  whole  habits  of 
life  and  thought. 

Such  was  the  political,  religious,  and  social  condition  of  a 
nation  who  were  now  to  witness  a  new  and  momentous 
spectacle. 


PART    I. 

PHILIP  THE  SECOND  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS, 

1555—1559. 


CHAPTER   I. 


Abdication  of  Charles  resolved  upon — Brussels  in  the  sixteenth  century— Hall 
of  the  palace  described — Portraits  of  prominent  individuals  present  at  the 
ceremony — Formalities  of  the  abdication — Universal  emotion — Remarks 
upon  the  character  and  career  of  Charles — His  retirement  at  Juste. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  October,  1555,  the  estates  of  the 
Netherlands  were  assembled  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace  at 
Brussels.*  They  had  been  summoned  to  be  the  witnesses  and 
the  guarantees  of  the  abdication  which  Charles  Y.  had  long 
before  resolved  upon,  and  which  he  was  that  day  to  execute. 
The  emperor,  like  many  potentates  before  and  since,  was  fond 
of  great  political  spectacles.  He  knew  their  influence  upon 
the  masses  of  mankind.  Although  plain,  even  to  shabbiness, 
in  his  own  costume,  and  usually  attired  in  black,"]"  no  one  ever 
understood  better  than  he  how  to  arrange  such  exhibitions  in 
a  striking  and  artistic  style.  We  have  seen  the  theatrical 
and  imposing  manner  in  which  he  quelled  the  insurrection  at 
Ghent,  and  nearly  crushed  the  life  forever  out  of  that  vigor- 
ous and  turbulent  little  commonwealth.  The  closing  scene 
of  his  long  and  energetic  reign  he  had  now  arranged  with 
profound  study,  and  with  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  man- 


*  Eml.  Van  Meteren.  Historien  der  Nederlanden,  i.  f.  16.  Pieter  Bor.  Neder- 
landshe  Oorlogen,  i.  f.  3. 

f  Illiberalior  quoque  quam  tanturn  decebat  Cassarem  est  habitus — vestitus  fere 
popularis,  colore  atro  oblectabatur.  Ponti  Heuteri  Rerum  Austriacarum  Hist 
(Lovanii,  1643),  xiv.  346\ 


96  THE   EISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

ner  in  which  the  requisite  effects  were  to  be  produced.  The 
termination  of  his  own  career,  the  opening  of  his  beloved 
Philij/s,  were  to  be  dramatized  in  a  manner  worthy  the 
august  character  of  the  actors,  and  the  importance  of  the 
great  stage  where  they  played  their  parts.  The  eyes  of  the 
whole  world  were  directed  upon  that  day  towards  Brussels; 
for  an  imperial  abdication  was  an  event  which  had  not,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  been  staled  by  custom. 

The  gay  capital  of  Brabant — of  that  province  which  rejoiced 
in  the  liberal  constitution  known  by  the  cheerful  title  of  the 
"joyful  entrance,"  was  worthy  to  be  the  scene  of  the  imposing 
show.  Brussels  had  been  a  city  for  more  than  five  centuries,  and, 
at  that  day,  numbered  about  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants.0 
Its  walls,  six  miles  in  circumference,  were  already  two  hundred 
years  old.f  Unlike  most  Netherland  cities,  lying  usually  upon 
extensive  plains,  it  was  built  along  the  sides  of  an  abrupt  pro- 
montory. A  wide  expanse  of  living  verdure,  cultivated  gardens, 
shady  groves,  fertile  corn-fields,  flowed  round  it  like  a  sea. 
The  foot  of  the  town  was  washed  by  the  little  river  Senne, 
while  the  irregular  but  picturesque  streets  rose  up  the  steep 
sides  of  the  hill  like  the  semicircles  and  stairways  of  an 
amphitheatre.  Nearly  in  the  heart  of  the  place  rose  the 
audacious  and  exquisitely  embroidered  tower  of  the  town- 
house,  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  feet  in  height,  a  miracle  of 
needlework  in  stone,  rivalling  in  its  intricate  carving  the  cob- 
web tracery  of  that  lace  which  has  for  centuries  been  synony- 
mous with  the  city,  and  rearing  itself  above  a  facade  of  pro- 
fusely decorated  and  brocaded  architecture.  The  crest  of  the 
elevation  was  crowned  by  the  towers  of  the  old  ducal  palace  of 
Brabant,  with  its  extensive  and  thickly-wooded  park  on  the 
left,  and  by  the  stately  mansions  of  Orange,  Egmont,  Arem- 
berg,  Culemburg,  and  other  Flemish  grandees,  on  the  right4 
The  great  forest  of  Soignies,  dotted  with  monasteries  and  con- 


*  Lud.  Guicciardini.     Belgii  Descript.  (Amst.  1660),  p.  110,  sqq. 
\  Ibid.     Compare  Les  Delices  des  Pays  Bas,  par  le  Pere  Griffet  (Liege,  1 T  69), 
i.  193,  sqq. 

%  Guicciardini     Le  Pero  Griffet,  ubi  sup. 


1555.]  BRUSSELS.  97 

vents,  swarming  with  every  variety  of  game,  whither  the 
citizens  made  their  summer  pilgrimages,  and  where  the  nobles 
chased  the  wild  boar  and  the  stag,  extended  to  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  city  walls.*  The  population,  as 
thrifty,  as  intelligent,  as  prosperous  as  that  of  any  city  in 
Europe,  was  divided  into  fifty-two  guilds  of  artisans,  among 
which  the  most  important  were  the  armorers,  whose  suits  of 
mail  would  turn  a  musket-ball ;  the  gardeners,  upon  whose 
gentler  creations  incredible  sums  were  annually  lavished  ;  and 
the  tapestry-workers,  whose  gorgeous  fabrics  were  the  wonder 
of  the  world.f  Seven  principal  churches,  of  which  the  most 
striking  was  that  of  St.  Gudule,  with  its  twin  towers,  its 
charming  facade,  and  its  magnificently  painted  windows, 
adorned  the  upper  part  of  the  city.  The  number  seven  was  a 
magic  number  in  Brussels,  and  was  supposed  at  that  epoch, 
during  which  astronomy  was  in  its  infancy  and  astrology  in  its 
prime,  to  denote  the  seven  planets  which  governed  all  things 
terrestrial  by  their  aspects  and  influences.  J  Seven  noble  families, 
springing  from  seven  ancient  castles,  supplied  the  stock  from 
which  the  seven  senators  were  selected  who  composed  the 
upper  council  of  the  city.  There  were  seven  great  squares, 
seven  city  gates,  and  upon  the  occasion  of  the  present  cere- 
mony, it  was  observed  by  the  lovers  of  wonderful  coincidences, 
that  seven  crowned  heads§  would  be  congregated  under  a  single 
roof  in  the  liberty-loving  city. 

The  palace  where  the  states-general  were  upon  this  occasion 
convened,  had  been  the  residence  of  the  Dukes  of  Brabant 
since  the  days  of  John  the  Second,  who  had  built  it  about  the 
year  1300.  It  was  a  spacious  and  convenient  building,  but 
not  distinguished  for  the  beauty  of  its  architecture.  In  front 
was  a  large  open  square,  enclosed  by  an  iron  railing  ;  in  the 
rear  an  extensive  and  beautiful  park,  filled  with  forest  trees, 
and  containing  gardens  and   labyrinths,  fish-ponds  and  game 

*  Guicciardini.     Le  Pcre  Griffet,  ubi  sup.  •{•  Ibid.  p.  120. 

\  Ibid.  p.  111.     Le  Pcre  Griffet. 

§  Em.  Van  Meteren,  i.  f.  17.  Le  Pere  Griffet,  i.  196.  Vander  Vynckt 
Xederl.  Beroerten,  (Amst.  1823),  L  109.     Guicciardini,  110. 


98  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

preserves,  fountains  and  promenades,  race-courses  and  archery 
grounds.*  The  main  entrance  to  this  edifice  opened  upon  a 
spacious  hall,  connected  with  a  beautiful  and  symmetrical 
chapel.  The  hall  was  celebrated  for  its  size,  harmonious  pro- 
portions, and  the  richness  of  its  decorations. f  It  was  the 
place  where  the  chapters  of  the  famous  order  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  were  held.  J  Its  walls  were  hung  with  a  magnificent 
tapestry  of  Arras,  representing  the  life  and  achievements  of 
Gideon,  the  Midianite,  and  giving  particular  prominence  to 
the  miracle  of  the  "  fleece  of  wool,"  vouchsafed  to  that  re- 
nowned champion,  §  the  great  patron  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Fleece.  On  the  present  occasion  there  were  various  additional 
embellishments  of  flowers  and  votive  garlands.  At  the  western 
end  a  spacious  platform  or  stage,  with  six  or  seven  steps,  had 
been  constructed,  below  which  was  a  range  of  benches  for  the 
deputies  of  the  seventeen  provinces.  ||  Upon  the  stage  itself 
there  were  rows  of  seats,  covered  with  tapestry,  upon  the 
right   hand   and  upon  the  left.      These  were  respectively  to 

*  Guicc.  116,  sqq.     Griffet,  i.  196,  sqq. 

f  Recoeil,  par  forme  de  Memoires  des  actes  et  choses  les  plus  notables  quy 
sont  advennes  es  Pays  Bas,  mis  et  redigees  par  escript  par  Pasquier  de  la 
Barre,  natif  de  Tournay.  (MS.  in  the  royal  archives  of  Brussels,  f.  5.)  This 
very  curious  manuscript,  which  we  shall  often  have  occasion  to  cite  in  the 
course  of  this  volume,  was  discovered  a  few  years  since  among  some  account- 
books  in  the  archives  of  Belgium.  Its  author  was  procureur-general  at  Tour- 
nay,  until  deprived  of  his  office,  in  Feb.  1567,  by  Noircarmes.  The  MS.  is 
full  of  curious  and  important  details  for  the  eventful  year  1566 — Vide  Gachard. 
Notice  d'un  Manuscrit  concernant  l'Hist.  de  Tournay.  Com.  Roy.  d'Hist.,  t.  i., 
No.  1,  2em°  Serie  du  Compte  Rendu. 

\  Four  days  before  the  abdication,  namely,  on  the  21st  October,  Charles  had 
held  a  council  of  the  Fleece,  at  which  eleven  knights  had  been  present.  To  these 
personages  ho  had  made  the  first  formal  communication  of  his  intention  of  con- 
ceding all  his  realms  to  his  son.  At  the  same  time  he  intimated  that,  being 
chief  of  the  order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  as  sovereign  of  Burgundy  and  the 
Netherlands,  ho  wished  to  divest  himself  of  that  dignity  in  favor  of  Philip 
The  king  then  retired  from  the  council.  The  knights  held  a  formal  discussion 
upon  the  subject,  concluding  by  approving  unanimously  the  appointment.  Philip 
then  re-entered  the  apartment,  and  was  congratulated  upon  his  new  office. — In- 
ventaire  de  la  Toison  d'Or ;  Brussels  Archives  MS.,  torn.  i. 

§  Do  la  Barre  MS.,  ubi  sup.     Judges,  chap.  vi. 

\  Gachard.     Analectes  Belgiques  (Paris,  1830),  p.  70-106. 


1555.]  THE   AUDIENCE.  99 

accommodate  the  knights  of  the  order  and  the  guests  of  high 
distinction.*  In  the  rear  of  these  were  other  benches,  for  the 
members  of  the  three  great  councils.f  In  the  centre  of  the 
stage  was  a  splendid  canopy,  decorated  with  the  arms  of  Bur- 
gundy, beneath  which  were  placed  three  gilded  arm-chairs.  J 
All  the  seats  upon  the  platform  were  vacant,  but  the  benches 
below,  assigned  to  the  deputies  of  the  provinces,  were  already 
filled.  Numerous  representatives  from  all  the  states  but  two 
— G-elderland  and  Overyssel — had  already  taken  their  places. 
Grave  magistrates,  in  chain  and  gown,  and  executive  officers 
in  the  splendid  civic  uniforms  for  which  the  Netherlands  were 
celebrated,  already  filled  every  seat  within  the  space  allotted. 
The  remainder  of  the  hall  was  crowded  with  the  more  favored 
portion  of  the  multitude  which  had  been  fortunate  enough  to 
procure  admission  to  the  exhibition.  The  archers  and  halle- 
bardiers  of  the  body-guard  kept  watch  at  all  the  doors.  §  The 
theatre  was  filled — the  audience  was  eager  with  expectation — . 
the  actors  were  yet  to  arrive.  As  the  clock  struck  three,  the 
hero  of  the  scene  appeared.  Ctesar,  as  he  was  always  desig- 
nated in  the  classic  language  of  the  day,  entered,  leaning  on 
the  shoulder  of  William  of  Orange. ||  They  came  from  the 
chapel,  and  were  immediately  followed  by  Philip  the  Second 
and  Queen  Mary  of  Hungary.  The  Archduke  Maximilian, 
the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  other  great  personages  came  after- 
wards, accompanied  by  a  glittering  throng  of  warriors,  coun- 
cillors, governors,  and  Knights  of  the  Fleece.^" 

Many  individuals  of  existing  or  future  historic  celebrity 
in  the  Netherlands,  whose  names  are  so  familiar  to  the  student 
of  the  epoch,  seemed  to  have  been  grouped,  as  if  by  premed- 
itated design,  upon  this  imposing  platform,  where  the 
curtain  was  to  fall  forever  upon  the  mightiest  emperor  since 


*  Gachard.  Analectes  Belgiques  (Paris,  1830),  p.  70-106.  f  Ibid. 

%  Ibid,  ubi  sup.  §  Ibid.     Compare  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  336. 

I  Gachard.     Analectes  Belgiques,  ubi  sup.     Van  Meteren,  i.  16. 

^[  Gachard.  Anal.  Belg.,  ubi  sup.  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  336.  Wilhelmua 
Godelaevus.  Historiola  de  Abdicatione  Imperii  a.  Carolo  Y.,  etc.,  etc.  Apud 
Schardii  Rer.  Germ.  Scriptores,  torn.  ii.  638-654. 


100  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH  EEPUBLIC.  [1555. 

Charlemagne,  and  where  the  opening  scene  of  the  long  and 
tremendous  tragedy  of  Philip's  reign  was  to  be  simultaneously 
enacted.  There  was  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  soon  to  be  known 
throughout  Christendom  by  the  more  celebrated  title  of  Car- 
dinal Granvelle,  the  serene  and  smiling  priest  whose  subtle 
influence  over  the  destinies  of  so  many  individuals  then  pres- 
ent, and  over  the  fortunes  of  the  whole  land,  was  to  be  so 
extensive  and  so  deadly.  There  was  that  flower  of  Flemish 
chivalry,  the  lineal  descendant  of  ancient  Frisian  kings, 
already  distinguished  for  his  bravery  in  many  fields,  but  not 
having  yet  won  those  two  remarkable  victories  which  were 
soon  to  make  the  name  of  Egmont  like  the  soimd  of  a  trumpet 
throughout  the  whole  country.  Tall,  magnificent  in  costume, 
with  dark  flowing  hair,  soft  brown  eye,  smooth  cheek,  a 
slight  moustache,  and  features  of  almost  feminine  delicacy  ; 
such  was  the  gallant  and  ill-fated  Lamoral  Egmont.*  The 
Count  of  Horn,  too,  with  bold,  sullen  face,  and  fan-shaped 
beard— a  brave,  honest,  discontented,  quarrelsome,  unpopular 
man  ;  those  other  twins  in  doom — the  Marquis  Berghen 
and  the  Lord  of  Montigny  ;  the  Baron  Berlaymont,  brave, 
intensely  loyal,  insatiably  greedy  for  office  and  wages,  but  who, 
at  least,  never  served  but  one  party  ;  the  Duke  of  Arschot, 
who  was  to  serve  all,  essay  to  rule  all,  and  to  betray  all — a 
splendid  seignor,  magnificent  in  cramoisy  velvet,  but  a  poor 
creature,  who  traced  his  pedigree  from  Adam,f  according  to  the 
family  monumental  inscriptions  at  Louvain,  but  who  was 
better  known  as  grand-nephew  of  the  emperor's  famous  tutor, 
Chievres  ;  the  bold,  debauched  Brederode,  with  handsome, 
reckless  face  and  turbulent  demeanor  ;  the  infamous  Noir- 
carmes,  whose  name  was  to  be  covered  with  eternal  execration, 
for  aping  towards  his  own  compatriots  and  kindred  as  much  of 


*  In  the  royal  gallery  at  Amsterdam  there  are  very  good  original  portraits  of 
Egmont,  Horn,  Alva,  Orange  and  all  his  brothers,  besides  many  other  con- 
temporary pictures. 

f  "  Amplius  ibi,  res  mirandae:  marmorea  prineipurn  Croyorum  monument, 
ibi  genealogiam  Ducum  de  Aresehot  ab  Adamo  usque  ad  praesentes,"  etc. — 
.Guicciardini,  p.  108,  (art.  Lovanium.) 


1555.]  conspicuous  personages.  101 

Alva's  atrocities  and  avarice,  as  he  was  permitted  to  exercise  ; 
the  distinguished  soldiers  Meghen  and  Arembers: — these, 
with  many  others  whose  deeds  of  arms  were  to  become  cele- 
brated throughout  Europe,  were  all  conspicuous  in  the  brilliant 
crowd.  There,  too,  was  that  learned  Frisian,  President  Viglius, 
crafty,  plausible,  adroit,  eloquent — a  small,  brisk  man,  with 
long  yellow  hair,  glittering  green  eyes,  round,  tumid,  rosy 
cheeks,  and  flowing  beard.0  Foremost  among  the  Spanish 
grandees,  and  close  to  Philip,  stood  the  famous  favorite,  Kuy 
Gomez,  or  as  he  was  familiarly  called  "  Ke  y  Gomez"f  (King 
and  Gomez),  a  man  of  meridional  aspect,  with  coal-black  hair 
and  beard,  gleaming  eyes,  a  face  pallid  with  intense  applica- 
tion, and  slender  but  handsome  figure  ;t  while  in  immediate 
attendance  upon  the  emperor,  was  the  immortal  Prince  of 
Orange. 

Such  were  a  few  only  of  the  most  prominent  in  that  gay 
throng,  whose  fortunes,  in  part,  it  will  be  our  humble  duty  to 
narrate  ;  how  many  of  them  passing  through  all  this  glitter  to 
a  dark  and  mysterious  doom  ! — some  to  perish  on  public  scaf- 
folds, some  by  midnight  assassination  ;  others,  more  fortunate, 
to  fall  on  the  battle-field — nearly  all,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  laid 
in  bloody  graves  ! 

All  the  company  present  had  risen  to  their  feet  as  the 
emperor  entered.  By  his  command,  all  immediately  afterwards 
resumed  their  places.  The  benches  at  either  end  of  the  platform 
were  accordingly  filled  with  the  royal  and  princely  personages 


*  Vita  Viglii  ab  Aytta  Zuichemi  ab  ipso  Viglio  Scripta.  Apud  Hoynck  v. 
Papendrecht,  i.  1  to  33.  Levensbeschryving  beroemede  Ned.  Mannen  und 
Vrouwen,  iv.  75  to  82.  Prosopographia  Viglii.  Ex.  Su£  Petri  Decade  xii. 
de  Script.  Frisise  apud  Hoynck. 

f  "  Ma  il  titolo  principale  eke  gli  vien  dato  e  di  Re  i  Gomez  et  non  di  Rui 
Gomez,  perche  non  par  che  sia  stato  mai  alcun  huomo  del  mondo  con  alcun 
principe  di  tanta  autorita  et  cosi  amato  dal  suo  signor  com  egli  da  questo  Re." 
— Relazione  del  Clmo  Fed '.  Badovaro  Ritornato  ambasciatore  della  Ser™  Rep1 
Venetiana,  l'anno  1557.     MS.  Bibl.  de  Bourgogne,  NJ  6085  bis. 

%  "  Ruy  Gomez— d'eta  di  39  anni,  di  mediocre  statura,  ha  occhi  pieiii  di  sp'o, 
di  pelo  una  barba  nero  e  riccio,  di  sottil  ossatura,  di  gagliarda  complessione,  ma 
par  debole  forse  per  l'incredibile  fatiche  che  egli  sostiene,  le  quale  lo  fauno  molto 
pallido,"  etc. — Badovaro  MS. 


102  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.         '        [1555. 

invited,  with  the  Fleece  Knights,  wearing  the  insignia  of 
their  order,  with  the  members  of  the  three  great  councils, 
and  with  the  governors.  The  Emperor,  the  King,  and  the  Queen 
of  Hungary,  were  left  conspicuous  in  the  centre  of  the  scene. 
As  the  whole  object  of  the  ceremony  was  to  present  an  impress- 
ive exhibition,  it  is  worth  our  while  to  examine  minutely  the 
appearance  of  the  two  principal  characters. 

Charles  the  Fifth  was  then  fifty-five  years  and  eight  months 
old  ;  but  he  was  already  decrepit  with  premature  old  age. 
He  was  of  about  the  middle  height,  and  had  been  athletic  and 
well-proportioned.  Broad  in  the  shoulders,  deep  in  the  chest, 
thin  in  the  flank,  very  muscular  in  the  arms  and  legs,  he  had 
been  able  to  match  himself  with  all  competitors  in  the  tourney 
and  the  ring,  and  to  vanquish  the  bull  with  his  own  hand  in 
the  favorite  national  amusement  of  Spain.'  He  had  been 
able  in  the  field  to  do  the  duty  of  captain  and  soldier,  to 
endure  fatigue  and  exposure,  and  every  privation  except  fast- 
ing.* These  personal  advantages  were  now  departed.  Crip- 
pled in  hands,  knees  and  legs,  he  supported  himself  with 
difficulty  upon  a  crutch,  with  the  aid  of  an  attendant's 
shoulder,  f  In  face  he  had  always  been  extremely  ugly,  and 
time  had  certainly  not  improved  his  physiognomy.  His  hair, 
once  of  a  light  color,  was  now  white  with  age,  close-clipped 
and  bristling  ;  his  beard  was  grey,  coarse,  and  shaggy.  His 
forehead  was  spacious  and  commanding ;  the  eye  was  dark- 
blue,  with  an  expression  both  majestic  and  benignant.  His 
nose  was  aquiline  but  crooked.  The  lower  part  of  his  face 
was  famous  for  its  deformity.  The  under  lip,  a  Burgundian 
inheritance,  as  faithfully  transmitted  as  the  duchy  and 
county,  was  heavy  and  hanging  ;  the  lower  jaw  protruding  so 
far  beyond  the  upper,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  bring 
together  the  few  fragments  of  teeth  which  still  remained,  or 


*  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  346'.     Compare  Relazione  di  Marino  Cavalli  in  Alberi,  sen 
i.  voL  II.  209 ;  Badovaro  Relazione,  MS. 

"  Hostem  non  semel  propria  manu  feriens." — Pont.  Heut 

"  Ha  amazzato  il  toro,"  etc. — Marino  Cavalli. 
f  Pont.  Hout.  xiv.  339. 


1555.]  CHARLES   AND   PHILIP.  103 

to  speak  a  whole  sentence  in  an  intelligible  voice.  Eating  and 
talking,  occupations  to  which  he  was  always  much  addicted, 
were  becoming  daily  more  arduous,  in  consequence  of  this 
original  defect,  which  now  seemed  hardly  human,  but  rather 
an  original  deformity.* 

So  much  for  the  father.  The  son,  Philip  the  Second,  was  a 
small,  meagre  man,  much  below  the  middle  height,  with  thin 
legs,  a  narrow  chest,  and  the  shrinking,  timid  air  of  an 
habitual  invalid,  f  He  seemed  so  little,  upon  his  first  visit  to 
his  aunts,  the  Queens  Eleanor  and  Mary,  J  accustomed  tc 
look  upon  proper  men  in  Flanders  and  German}T,  that  he  was 
fain  to  win  their  favor  by  making  certain  attempts  in  the 
tournament, §  in  which  his  success  was  sufficiently  problemat- 
ical. "  His  body,"  says  his  professed  panegyrist,  "  was  but  a 
human  cage,  in  which,  however  brief  and  narrow,  dwelt  a  soul 
to  whose  flight  the  immeasurable  expanse  of  heaven  was  too 
contracted." [|  The  same  wholesale  admirer  adds,  that  "  his 
aspect  was  so  reverend,  that  rustics  who  met  him  alone  in  a 
wood,  without   knowing   him,    bowed   down   with   instinctive 


*  Pont.  Heut  xiv.  346.  Badovaro  MS. — "  Ha  il  fronte  spatioso,  gli  occbi  celesti, 
il  naso  aquilino  alquanto  torto,  la  mascella  inferiore  lunga  e  larga  onde  avviene 
che  ella  non  pud  con  giungere  i  denti  et  nel  finir  le  parole  non  e  ben  intesa. 
Ha  pochi  denti  dinanti  et  fracidi,  le  carni  belle,  la  barba  corta,spinosa  et  canuta." 

Comp.  Gasp.  Contarini  apud  Alberi,  ser  i.  II.  p.  60 :  "  Tutta  la  mascella 
inferiore  e  tanto  lungha  cbe  non  pare  naturale  ma  pare  posticcia,  onde  avviene 
che  non  pud,  chiudendo  la  bocca  congiungere  le  denti  inferiori  con  li  superiori, 
ma  gli  rimane  spazio  della  grossezza  d'un  dente,  onde  nel  parlare,  massime  nel 
finire  della  clausula,  balbutiare  qual  che  parola  la  quale  spesso  non  s'intende 
tnolto  bene." 

t  Badovaro  MS. — "E  di  statura  piccolo  et  membri  rninuti — la  sua  comples- 
aione  e  flemmatica  et  malenconica," — Relazione  del  Mag  '  M.  Giovan.  Michele. 

Venuto  Ambascrc  d'Inghilterra,  d'anno  1557.     " infermo  e  valetudinario  non 

solo,  perche  sia  naturalmente  debile,  et  persona  di  poca,  anzi  di  nessuno  exer- 
citio,"  etc.— MS.  Bib.  de  Bourg.,  N   6093. 

\  "Aunque  les  parecio  pequeno  de  cuerpo — acostumbradas  a  ver  los  Ale- 
mannes,"  etc. — Cabrera.  Vita  de  Felipe  Segundc,  Rey  de  Espana  (Mad.  1619). 

lib.  i.  1 2. 

§  Cabrera,  ubi  sup. 

|  "  Como  si  fuera  el  cuerpo  umana  jaula  que  por  mas  breve  i  mas  estrecha  no 
la  abita  animo  a  cuyo  buelo  sea  pequefia  la  redondar  del  cielo.?' — Cabrera,  i.  12. 


104  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1555. 

veneration."*  In  face,  he  was  the  living  image  of  his  father,f 
having  the  same  broad  forehead,  and  blue  eye,  with  the  same 
aquiline,  but  better  proportioned,  nose.  In  the  lower  part  of 
the  countenance,  the  remarkable  Burgundian  deformity  was  like- 
wise reproduced.  He  had  the  same  heavy,  hanging  lip,  with  a 
vast  mouth,  and  monstrously  protruding  lower  jaw.|  His  com- 
plexion was  fair,  his  hair  light  and  thin,  his  beard  yellow, 
short,  and  pointed.§  He  had  the  aspect  of  a  Fleming,  but 
the  loftiness  of  a  Spaniard.  ||  ,  His  demeanor  in  public  was 
still,  silent,  almost  sepulchral.  He  looked  habitually  on  the 
ground  when  he  conversed,  was  chary  of  speech,  embarrassed, 
and  even  suffering  in  manner.^"  This  was  ascribed  partly  to 
a  natural  haughtiness  which  he  had  occasionally  endeavored 
to  overcome,  and  partly  to  habitual  pains  in  the  stomach, 
occasioned  by  his  inordinate  fondness  for  pastry.** 

Such  was  the  personal  appearance  of  the  man  who  was 
about  to  receive  into  his  single  hand  the  destinies  of  half  the 
world  ;  whose  single  will  was,  for  the  future,  to  shape  the 
fortunes  of  every  individual  then  present,  of  many  millions 
more  in  Europe,  America,  and  at  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  of 
countless  millions  yet  unborn. 


*  " que  do  los  rusticos  que  ni  le  conoscieron  ni  vieron  eu  compaiiia  e 

solo  en  una  selva,  juzgandole  degno  de  toda  veneration,  era  saludado  con 
reverencia." — Cabrera,  i.  4. 

\  "  L'istessa  imagine  e  intento  dell'  Imperatore  suo  padre,  conformissimo  di 
came  et  di  faccia  et  lineamente  con  quella  bocca  et  labro  pendente  piu  dall  altro 
et  con  tutte  l'altre  qualita  del  Impre  ma  da  minor  statura." — Michele  MS. 

\  Michele  MS.  and  Badovaro  MS. — "  II  labro  di  sotto  grosso  die  gli  desdice  al 
quanto — fronte  grande  e  bella,  gl'  occhi  di  color  celeste  et  assai  grande,"  etc.,  etc. 

§  "Porta  la  barba  corta,  pontuta  e  di  pelo  bianco  et  biondo  et  ha  apparenza 
di  fiamengo  ma  altiero  perche  sta  su  le  maniere  di  Spagnuolo." — Badovaro  MS. 

I  Badovaro  MS. 

T[  "  Ma  non  guarda  ordinariamente  chi  negotia  et  tien  gli  occhi  bassi  in  terra." 
— Badovaro  MS. 

**  "Si  come  la  natura  ha  fatto  Sua  Mta  di  corpo  debole  cos;  l'ha  fatto  al 

quanto  d'animo  timido et  quanto  agli  effetti  delle  temperanza  elle  eccede  nel 

mangiare  qualita  di  cibi,  spetialmente  intorno  a  pasticci." — Badovaro  MS. 

" e  patisce  doglie  di  stomaco  e  dei  fianchi." — Ibid. 

" spessissimo  sotto  posto  alle  dolori  di  stomacho." — Giov.  Michelo  MS. 


1555.]  OPENING   HARANGUE.  105 

The  three  royal  personages  being  seated  upon  chairs  placed 
triangularly  under  the  canopy,*  such  of  the  audience  as  had 
seats  provided  for  them,  now  took  their  places,  and  the  proceed- 
ings commenced.      Philibert  de  Bruxelles,  a  member  of  the 

o  J 

privy  council  of  the  Netherlands,  arose  at  the  emperor's  com- 
mand, and  made  a  long  oration.f  He  spoke  of  the  emperor's 
warm  affection  for  the  provinces,  as  the  land  of  his  birth  ;  of 
his  deep  regret  that  his  broken  health  and  failing  powers,  both 
of  body  and  mind,  compelled  him  to  resign  his  sovereignty, 
and  to  seek  relief  for  his  shattered  frame  in  a  mure  genial 
climate.  £  Cassar's  gout  was  then  depicted  in  energetic  lan- 
guage, which  must  have  cost  him  a  twinge  as  he  sat  there 
and  listened  to  the  councillor's  eloquence.  "  'Tis  a  most 
truculent  executioner,"  said  Philibert :  "  it  invades  the  whole 
body,  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  soles  of  the  feet, 
leaving  nothing  untouched.  It  contracts  the  nerves  with  in- 
tolerable anguish,  it  enters  the  bones,  it  freezes  the  marrow,  it 
converts  the  lubricating  fluids  of  the  joints  into  chalk,  it 
pauses  not  until,  having  exhausted  and  debilitated  the  whole 
body,  it  has  rendered  all  its  necessary  instruments  useless,  and 
conquered  the  mind  by  immense  torture."§  Engaged  in 
mortal  struggle  with  such  an  enemy,  Cassar  felt  himself 
obliged,  as  the  councillor  proceeded  to  inform  his  audience,  to 
change  the  scene  of  the  contest  from  the  humid  air  of  Flanders 
to  the  warmer  atmosphere  of  Spain.  He  rejoiced,  however, 
that  his  son  was  both  vigorous  and  experienced,  and  that 
his  recent  marriage  with  the  Queen  of  England  had  furnished 
the  provinces  with  a  most  valuable  alliance.  ||  He  then  again 
referred  to  the  emperor's  boundless  love  for  his  subjects,  and 


*  Godelaevus.     De  Abdicatione,  etc.  p.  640. 

f  Gachard.     Anal.  Belg.  81-102.     P.  Bor,  i.  3. 

%  Bor,  i.  3,  4.     Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  336-338.     Godelaevus,  640,  642. 

§  Pont.  Heut.  336. — The  historian  was  present  at  the  ceremony,  and  gives  a 
very  full  report  of  the  speeches,  all  of  which  he  heard.  His  imagination  may 
have  assisted  his  memory  in  the  task.  The  other  reporters  of  the  councillor 
harangue  have  reduced  this  pathological  flight  of  rhetoric  to  a  very  small 
compass. 

\  Pont.  Heut.,  ubi  sup. 


100  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555 

concluded  with  a  tremendous,  but  superfluous,  exhortation  to 
Philip  on  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  Catholic  religion  in 
its  purity.  After  this  long  harangue,  which  has  been  fully  re- 
ported by  several  historians  who  were  present  at  the  ceremony, 
the  councillor  proceeded  to  read  the  deed  of  cession,  by  which 
Philip,  already  sovereign  of  Sicily,  Naples,  Milan,  and  titular 
King  of  England,  France,  and  Jerusalem,  now  received  all 
the  duchies,  marquisates,  earldoms,  baronies,  cities,  towns,  and 
castles  of  the  Burgundian  property,  including,  of  course,  the 
seventeen  Netherlands.'1'5 

As  De  Bruxelles  finished,  there  was  a  buzz  of  admiration 
throughout  the  assembly,  mingled  with  murmurs  of  regret, 
that  in  the  present  great  danger  upon  the  frontiers  from  the 
belligerent  King  of  France  and  Iris  warlike  and  restless  nation, 
the  provinces  should  be  left  without  their  ancient  and  puissant 
defender.f  The  emperor  then  rose  to  his  feet.  Leaning  on  his 
crutch,  he  beckoned  from  his  seat  the  personage  upon  whose 
arm  he  had  leaned  as  he  entered  the  hall.  A  tall,  handsome 
youth  of  twenty-two  came  forward — a  man  whose  name  from 
that  time  forward,  and  as  long  as  history  shall  endure,  has 
been,  and  will  be,  more  familiar  than  any  other  in  the  mouths 
of  Netherlanders.  At  that  day  he  had  rather  a  southern  than 
a  German  or  Flemish  appearance.  He  had  a  Spanish  cast  of 
features,  dark,  well  chiselled,  and  symmetrical.  His  head  was 
small  and  well  placed  upon  his  shoulders.  His  hair  was  dark- 
brown,  as  were  also  his  moustache  and  peaked  beard.  His 
forehead  was  lofty,  spacious,  and  already  prematurely  engraved 
with  the  anxious  lines  of  thought.  His  eyes  were  full,  brown, 
well  opened,  and  expressive  of  profound  reflection.^  He  was 
dressed  in  the  magnificent  apparel  for  which  the  Netherlanders 
were  celebrated  above  all  other  nations,  and  which  the  cere- 
mony rendered  necessary.     His  presence  being  considered  in- 


*  Godelaevus,  640,  641.  f  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  338,  sqq. 

\  The  most  satisfactory  portrait  of  the  prince  during  the  early  part  of  hia 
career,  is  one  belonging  to  the  private  collection  of  the  late  King  of  Holland, 
William  IV.,  at  the  Hague. 


1555.]  the  emperor's  address.  107 

dispensable  at  this  great  ceremony,  he  had  been  summoned 
but  recently  from  the  camp  on  the  frontier,  where,  notwith- 
standing his  youth,  the  emperor  had  appointed  him  to  com- 
mand his  army  in  chief  against  such  antagonists  as  Admiral 
Coligny  and  the  Due  de  Nevers.* 

Thus  supported  upon  his  crutch  and  upon  the  shoulder  of 
William  of  Orange,  f  the  Emperor  proceeded  to  address  the 
states,  by  the  aid  of  a  closely- written  brief  which  he  held  in  Ins 
hand4  He  reviewed  rapidly  the  progress  of  events  from  his 
seventeenth  year  up  to  that  day.  He  spoke  of  his  nine  expedi- 
tions into  Germany,  six  to  Spain,  seven  to  Italy,  four  to  France, 
ten  to  the  Netherlands,  two  to  England,  as  many  to  Africa,  and 
of  his  eleven  voyages  by  sea.  He  sketched  his  various  wars, 
victories,  and  treaties  of  peace,  assuring  his  hearers  that  the 
welfare  of  his  subjects  and  the  security  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  had  ever  been  the  leading  objects  of  his  life.  As  long 
as  God  had  granted  him  health,  he  continued,  only  enemies 
could  have  regretted  that  Charles  was  living  and  reigning, 
but  now  that  his  strength  was  but  vanity,  and  life  fast  ebbing 
away,  his  love  for  dominion,  his  affection  for  his  subjects,  and 
his  regard  for  their  interests,  required  his  departure.  Instead 
of  a  decrepit  man  with  one  foot  in  the  grave,  he  presented 
them  with  a  sovereign  in  the  prime  of  life  and  the  vigor  of 
health.  Turning  toward  Philip,  he  observed,  that  for  a  dying 
father  to  bequeath  so  magnificent  an  empire  to  his  son  was  a 
deed  worthy  of  gratitude,  but  that  when  the  father  thus  de- 
scended to  the  grave  before  his  time,  and  by  an  anticipated 
and  living  burial  sought  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  his 
realms  and  the  grandeur  of  his  son,  the  benefit  thus  conferred 
was  surely  far  greater.  He  added,  that  the  debt  would  be  paid 
to  him  and  with  usury,  should  Philip  conduct  himself  in  his 


*  Apologie  ou  Defense  de  tres  Illustre  Prince  Guillaume,  Prince  d'Orange. — 
Sylvius,  1581,  pp.  29,  30,  31. 

f  "  Surgens  igitur,  et  in  pede  stans,  dextra  ob  imbecillitatem  scipioni,  sinistra 
humero  Gulielmi  Xassauvii,  Aurantii  principis." — Pont.  Heut.  338. 

%  "  Et  membranula  eorum  qure  ad  senatum  referre  statuisset  capite  continente 
memoriam  adjuvans." — Godelaevus,  642. 


108  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

administration  of  the  province  with  a  wise  and  affectionate 
regard  to  their  true  interests.  Posterity  would  applaud  his 
abdication,  should  his  son  prove  worthy  of  his  bounty ;  and 
that  could  only  be  by  living  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  by  main- 
taining law,  justice,  and  the  Catholic  religion  in  all  their 
purity,  as  the  true  foundation  of  the  realm.  In  conclusion,  he 
entreated  the  estates,  and  through  them  the  nation,  to  render 
obedience  to  their  new  prince,  to  maintain  concord  and  to  pre- 
serve inviolate  the  Catholic  faith ;  begging  them,  at  the  same 
time,  to  pardon  him  all  errors  or  offences  which  he  might  have 
committed  towards  them  during  his  reign,  and  assuring  them 
that  he  should  unceasingly  remember  their  obedience  and 
affection  in  his  every  prayer  to  that  Being  to  whom  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  was  to  be  dedicated.* 

Such  brave  words  as  these,  so  many  vigorous  asseverations 
of  attempted  performance  of  duty,  such  fervent  hopes  ex- 
pressed of  a  benign  administration  in  behalf  of  the  son,  could 
not  but  affect  the  sensibilities  of  the  audience,  already  excited 
and  softened  by  the  impressive  character  of  the  whole  display. 
Sobs  were  heard  throughout  every  jiortion  of  the  hall,  and 
tears  poured  profusely  from  every  eye.  The  Fleece  Knights 
on  the  platform  and  the  burghers  in  the  background  were  all 
melted  with  the  same  emotion.  As  for  the  Emperor  himself, 
he  sank  almost  fainting  upon  his  chair  as  he  concluded  his 
address.  An  ashy  paleness  overspread  his  countenance,  and 
he  wept  like  a  child.f  Even  the  icy  Philip  was  almost  softened, 
as  he  rose  to  perform  his  part  in  the  ceremony.  Dropping 
upon  his  knees  before  his  father's  feet,  he  reverently  kissed  his 
hand.  Charles  placed  his  hands  solemnly  upon  his  son's  head? 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  blessed  him  in  the  name  of 
the  Holy  Trinity.^  Then  raising  him  in  his  arms  he  tenderly 
embraced  him.  saying,  as  he  did  so,  to  the  great  potentates 


*  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  338,  339.  Godelaevus,  640-642.  Gachard.  Anal.  Belg.  81- 
102.  Compare  Bor,  i.  4,  5;  Van  Heteren,  i.  16;  Fam.  Strada  de  Bello  Belgico 
(Rom.  1653),  i.  9,  7. 

f  Pont.  Hcut.     Meteren,  ubi  sup.  |  Godelaevus  642. 


1555.]  OTHER   SPEECHES.  109 

around  him,  that  he  felt  a  sincere  compassion  for  the  son 
on  whose  shoulders  so  heavy  a  weight  had  just  devolved,  and 
which  only  a  life-long  labor  would  enable  him  to  support.* 
Philip  now  uttered  a  few  words  expressive  of  his  duty  to  his 
father  and  his  affection  for  his  people.  Turning  to  the  orders, 
he  signified  his  regret  that  he  was  unable  to  address  them 
either  in  the  French  or  Flemish  language,  and  was  therefore 
obliged  to  ask  their  attention  to  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  who 
would  act  as  his  interpreter.f  Antony  Perrenot  accordingly 
arose,  and  in  smooth,  fluent,  and  well-turned  commonplaces, 
expressed  at  great  length  the  gratitude  of  Philip  towards  his 
father,  with  his  firm  determination  to  walk  in  the  path  of 
duty,  and  to  obey  his  father's  counsels  and  example  in  the  fu- 
ture administration  of  the  provinces.*  This  long  address  of 
the  prelate  was  responded  to  at  equal  length  by  Jacob  Maas, 
member  of  the  Council  of  Brabant,  a  man  of  great  learning, 
eloquence  and  prolixity,  who  had  been  selected  to  reply  on  be- 
half of  the  states-general,  and  who  now,  in  the  name  of  these 
bodies,  accepted  the  abdication  in  an  elegant  and  compliment- 
ary harangue.§  Queen  Mary  of  Hungary,  the  "  Christian 
widow"  of  Erasmus,  1 1  and  Regent  of  the  Netherlands  during 
the  past  twenty-five  years,  then  rose  to  resign  her  office,  making 
a  brief  address  expressive  of  her  affection  for  the  people,  her 
regrets  at  leaving  them,  and  her  hopes  that  all  errors  which 
she  might  have  committed  during  her  long  administration 
would  be  forgiven  her.  Again  the  redundant  Maas  responded, 
asserting  in  terms  of  fresh  compliment  and  elegance  the  uni- 
form satisfaction  of  the  provinces  with  her  conduct  during  her 
whole  career.  ^[ 

The  orations  and  replies  having  now  been  brought  to  a 


*  Godelaevus,  642. 

f  Ibid.     Pont.  Heut.  340.     Meteren,  i.  16.     Bor,  i.  5,  6. 

X  Gachard.  AnaL  Belg.,  ubi  sup.  Pont.  Heut.,  Bor,  ubi  sup.  Godelaevus 
reports  the  bishop's  speech  in  six  folio  columns  of  the  most  flowing  commonplace. 
Be  Abdicat.  642,  sqq.  §  Ibid.     Ibid. 

|  Het  Leven  Van  Desiderius  Erasmus.       Nederl.  Mannen  en  Vrouwen,  i.  274 

^  Pont.  Heut.,  Godelaevus,  Bor,  Meteren,  ubi  sup. 


110  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

close,  the  ceremony  was  terminated.  The  Emperor,  leaning 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  of  the  Count 
de  Buren,*  slowly  left  the  hall,  followed  by  Philip,  the  Queen 
of  Hungary,  and  the  whole  court ;  all  in  the  same  order  in 
which  they  had  entered,  and  by  the  same  passage  into  the 
chapel.f 

It  is  obvious  that  the  drama  had  been  completely  successful. 
It  had  been  a  scene  where  heroic  self-sacrifice,  touching  con- 
fidence, ingenuous  love  of  duty,  patriotism,  and  paternal  affec- 
tion upon  one  side  ;  filial  reverence,  with  a  solemn  regard  for 
public  duty  and  the  highest  interests  of  the  people  on  the 
other,  were  supposed  to  be  the  predominant  sentiments.  The 
happiness  of  the  Netherlands  was  apparently  the  only  object 
contemplated  in  the  great  transaction.  All  had  played  well 
their  parts  in  the  past,  all  hoped  the  best  in  the  times 
which  were  to  follow.  The  abdicating  Emperor  was  looked 
upon  as  a  hero  and  a  prophet.  The  stage  was  drowned  in 
tears.  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  as  to  the  genuine 
and  universal  emotion  which  was  excited  throughout  the 
assembly.  "  Ceesar's  oration,"  says  Secretary  Godelaevus, 
who  was  present  at  the  ceremony,  "deeply  moved  the 
nobility  and  gentry,  many  of  whom  burst  into  tears  ;  even 
the  illustrious  Knights  of  the  Fleece  were  melted/'J  The 
historian,  Pontus  Heuterus,  who,  then  twenty  years  of  age, 
was  likewise  among  the  audience,  attests  that  "  most  of  the 
assembly  were  dissolved  in  tears  ;  uttering  the  while  such 
sonorous  sobs  that  they  compelled  his  Cesarean  Majesty  and 
the  Queen  to  cry  with  them.  My  own  face/'  he  adds,  "  was 
certainly  quite  wet."§  The  English  envoy,  Sir  John  Mason, 
describing  in  a  despatch  to  his  government  the  scene  which  he 
had  just  witnessed,  paints  the  same  picture.    "  The  Emperor," 


*  Godelaevus,  645.  f  Gachard.     Anal.  Belg. 

\  Commovit  ea  Caesaris  oratio  Proceres  et  multi  in  profusissimas  eruperunt 
lachrymas  etiam  illustres  aurei  Velleris  equites." — Godel.  642. 
g  Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  336-339. 


1555],  MISPLACED    EMOTION.  Ill 

he  said,  "  begged  the  forgiveness  of  his  subjects  if  he  had  ever 
unwittingly  omitted  the  performance  of  any  of  his  duties 
towards  them.  And  here,"  continues  the  envoy,  "  he  broke 
into  a  weeping,  whereunto,  besides  the  dolefulness  of  the  matter, 
I  think,  he  was  moche  provoked  by  seeing  the  whole  company 
to  do  the  lyke  before  ;  there  beyng  in  myne  opinion  not  one 
man  in  the  whole  assemblie,  stranger  or  another,  that  dewring 
the  time  of  a  good  piece  of  his  oration  poured  not  out  as 
abundantly  teares,  some  more,  some  lesse.  And  yet  he 
prayed  them  to  beare  with  his  imperfections,  proceeding 
of  his  sickly  age,  and  of  the  mentioning  of  so  tender  a 
matter  as  the  departing  from  such  a  sort  of  dere  and  loving 
subjects."  * 

And  yet  what  was  the  Emperor  Charles  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Netherlands  that  they  should  weep  for  him  ?  His  conduct 
towards  them  during  his  whole  career,  had  been  one  of  unmiti- 
gated oppression.  What  to  them  were  all  these  forty  voyages 
by  sea  and  land,  these  journeyings  back  and  forth  from  Fries- 
land  to  Tunis,  from  Madrid  to  Vienna.  What  was  it  to 
them  that  the  imperial  shuttle  was  thus  industriously  flying 
to  and  fro  ?  The  fabric  wrought  was  but  the  daily  growing 
grandeur  and  splendor  of  his  imperial  house  ;  the  looms  were 
kept  moving  at  the  expense  of  their  hardly-earned  treasure, 
and  the  woof  was  often  dyed  red  in  the  blood  of  his  bravest 
subjects.  The  interests  of  the  Netherlands  had  never  been 
even  a  secondary  consideration  with  their  master.  He  had 
fulfilled  no  duty  towards  them,  he  had  committed  the  gravest 
crimes  against  them.  He  had  regarded  them  merely  as  a 
treasury  upon  which  to  draw  ;  while  the  sums  which  he  ex- 
torted were  spent  upon  ceaseless  and  senseless  wars,  which  were 
of  no  more  interest  to  them  than  if  they  had  been  waged  in 
another  planet.     Of  five  millions  of  gold  annually,  which  he 


*  Extracts  from  this  despatch  are  given  by  J.  W.  Burgon,  Life  and  Times  of  Sir 
Thomas  Gresham,  a  work  which  contains  various  documents,  both  rare  ana  im- 
portant. 


112  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

derived  from  all  his  realms,  two  millions  came  from  these  indus- 
trious and  opulent  provinces,  while  but  a  half  million  came 
from  Spain  and  another  half  from  the  Indies.*  The  mines  of 
wealth  which  had  been  opened  by  the  hand  of  industry  in  that 
slender  territory  of  ancient  morass  and  thicket,  f  contributed 
four  times  as  much  income  to  the  imperial  exchequer  as  all  the 
boasted  wealth  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  Yet  the  artisans,  the 
farmers  and  the  merchants,  by  whom  these  riches  were  pro- 
duced, were  consulted  about  as  much  in  the  expenditure  of  the 
imposts  upon  their  industry  as  were  the  savages  of  America 
us  to  the  distribution  of  the  mineral  treasures  of  their  soil. 
The  rivalry  of  the  houses  of  Habsburg  and  Valois,  this  was 
the  absorbing  theme,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  reign 
which  had  just  been  so  dramatically  terminated.  To  gain  the 
empire  over  Francis,  to  leave  to  Don  Philip  a  richer  heritage 
than  the  Dauphin  could  expect,  were  the  great  motives  of  the 
unparalleled  energy  displayed  by  Charles  during  the  longer 
and  the  more  successful  portion  of  his  career.  To  crush  the 
Reformation  throughout  his  dominions,  was  his  occupation 
afterward,  till  he  abandoned  the  field  in  despair.     It  was  cer- 


*  "  Di  tutti  questi  Suoi  Regni  ha  sua  M' »  cinque  millioni  d'oro  d'intrata  in  tempo 
dl  pace,  cioe  mez  della  Spagna,  mez  dalle  Indie,  uno  da  Milano  et  da  Sicilia,  un 
altro  di  Fiandra  et  dalli paesi  bassi un  altro."  Relazione  delClmo  M.  Mich.  Surian*. 
MS.  Bib.  de  Bourg.,  N°  12,  871. 

"Le  rendite  de  S.  M.  (dalli  poesi  bassi)  sono  al  presente  da  un  millione  et  15C 
scudi — ma  in  poco  piu  da  cinque  anni  vengono  ad  haver  contribuito  i  Fiam- 
menghi  di  straordinario  quasi  otto  miglioni  d'oro  e  tutto  il  peso  si  fuo  dir  vien 
portato  dalla  Fiandra  Brabantia,  Olanda  e  Zelanda." — Badovaro  MS. 

f  Badovaro  estimated  the  annual  value  of  butter  and  cheese  produced  in  those 
meadows  which  Holland  had  rescued  from  the  ocean  at  800,000  crowns,  a  sum 
which,  making  allowance  for  the  difference  in  the  preseni  value  of  money  from 
that  which  it  bore  in  1557,  would  represent  nearly  eight  millions.  (MS.  Rela- 
zione.) In  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  the  Netherlanders  were  the 
foremost  nation  in  the  world.  The  fabrics  of  Arras,  Tournay,  Brussels,  Louvain, 
Ghent,  Bruges,  were  entirely  unrivalled.  Antwerp  was  the  great  commercial 
metropolis  of  Christendom.  "Aversa,"  says  Badovaro,  "estimata  la  maggiore 
piazza  del  Mondo — si  puo  credere  quanto  sia  la  somma  si  afferma  passare  40  mil- 
lioni d'oro  l'anno,  quelli  che  incontanto  girano.'' 


1555.]  FINANCIAL    AND   POLITICAL    OPPRESSION.  113 

tainly  not  desirable  for  the  Netherlander  that  they  should  be 
thus  controlled  by  a  man  who  forced  them  to  contribute  so 
largely  to  the  success  of  schemes,  some  of  which  were  at  best 
indifferent,  and  others  entirely  odious  to  them.  They  paid 
1,200,000  crowns  a  year  regularly  ;  they  paid  in  five  years  an 
extraordinary  subsidy  of  eight  millions  of  ducats,  and  the  States 
were  roundly  rebuked  by  the  courtly  representatives  of  their 
despot,  if  they  presumed  to  inquire  into  the  objects  of  the 
appropriations,  or  to  express  an  interest  in  their  judicious 
administration.0  Yet  it  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  a  matter 
of  indifference  to  them  whether  Francis  or  Charles  had  won  the 
day  at  Pavia,  and  it  certainly  was  not  a  cause  of  triumph  to  the 
daily  increasing  thousands  of  religious  reformers  in  Holland  and 
Flanders  that  their  brethren  had  been  crushed  by  the  Emperor 
at  Miihlberg.  But  it  was  not  alone  that  he  drained  their 
treasure,  and  hampered  their  industry.  He  was  in  constant 
conflict  with  their  ancient  and  dearly-bought  political  liberties. 
Like  his  ancestor  Charles  the  Bold,  he  was  desirous  of  con- 
structing a  kingdom  out  of  the  provinces.  He  was  disposed 
to  place  all  their  separate  and  individual  charters  on  a  pro- 
crustean  bed,  and  shape  them  all  into  imiformity  simply  by 
reducing  the  whole  to  a  nullity.  The  difficulties  in  the  way, 
the  stout  opposition  offered  by  burghers,  whose  fathers  had 
gained  these  charters  with  their  blood,  and  his  want  of  leisure 
during  the  vast  labors  which  devolved  upon  him  as  the  auto- 
crat of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  world,  caused  him  to  defer 
indefinitely  the  execution  of  his  plan.  He  found  time  only 
to  crush  some  of  the  foremost  of  the  liberal  institutions  of  the 
provinces,  in  detail.  He  found  the  city  of  Tournay  a  happy, 
thriving,  self-governed  little  republic  in  all  its  local  affairs  ;  he 
destroyed  its  liberties,  without  a  tolerable  pretext,  and  reduced 
it  to  the  condition  of  a  Spanish  or  Italian  provincial  town.f 
His  memorable   chastisement  of  Ghent  for  having  dared  to 


*  Postea.     Granvelle's  Complaints. 

t  Extraits   des    Registres   de3   Consaux   de    Tournay,    1472-15S1,    par    ML 
Gachard  (Bruxelles,  1846),  pp.  8-13. 

VOL.   I.  8 


114  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

assert  its  ancient  rights  of  self-taxation,  is  sufficiently  known 
to  the  world,  and  has  been  already  narrated  at  length.0 
Many  other  instances  might  be  adduced,  if  it  were  not  a 
superfluous  task,  to  prove  that  Charles  was  not  only  a 
political  despot,  but  most  arbitrary  and  cruel  in  the  exercise 
of  his  despotism. 

But  if  his  sins  against  the  Netherlands  had  been  only 
those  of  financial  and  political  oppression,  it  would  be  at 
least  conceivable,  although  certainly  not  commendable,  that 
the  inhabitants  should  have  regretted  his  departure.  But 
there  are  far  darker  crimes  for  which  he  stands  arraigned  at 
the  bar  of  history,  and  it  is  indeed  strange  that  the  man  who 
had  committed  them  should  have  been  permitted  to  speak  his 
farewell  amid  blended  plaudits  and  tears.  His  hand  planted 
the  inquisition  in  the  Netherlands.  Before  his  day  it  is  idle 
to  say  that  the  diabolical  institution  ever  had  a  place  there. 
The  isolated  cases  in  which  inquisitors  had  exercised  functions 
proved  the  absence  and  not  the  j>resence  of  the  system,  and 
will  be  discussed  in  a  later  chapter.  Charles  introduced  and 
organized  a  j>apal  inquisition,  side  by  side  with  those  terrible 
"  placards"  of  his  invention,  which  constituted  a  masked  inqui- 
sition even  more  cruel  than  that  of  Spain.  The  execution  of 
the  system  was  never  permitted  to  languish.  The  number  of 
Netherlander  who  were  burned,  strangled,  beheaded,  or  buried 
alive,  in  obedience  to  his  edicts,  and  for  the  offences  of  reading 
the  Scriptures,  of  looking  askance  at  a  graven  image,  or  of 
ridiculing  the  actual  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
in  a  wafer,  have  been  placed  as  high  as  one  hundred  thousand 
by  distinguished  authorities,  and  have  never  been  put  at  a  lower 
mark  than  fifty  thousand. f  The  Venetian  envoy  Navigero 
placed  the  number  of  victims  in  the  provinces  of  Holland  and 


*  Introduction  to  this  work. 

\  "  Nam  post  carnificata  hominum  non  minus  centum  millia,  ex  quo  tentatum 
an  posset  incendium  hoc  sanguine  restingui,  tanta  multitude  per  Belgicam  in- 
surrexerat,  ut  publica  interdum  supplicia  quoties  insignior  reus,  aut  atrociores 
cruciatus  seditiono  impedirentur." — Hugonis  Grotii  Annal.,  lib.  i.  17  (Ainst. 
1658). 


1555.]  EDICTS   AND   INQUISITION.  115 

Friesland  alone  at  thirty  thousand,  and  this  in  1546,*  ten 
years  before  the  abdication,  and  five  before  the  promulgation 
of  the  hideous  edict  of  1550  ! 

The  edicts  and  the  inquisition  were  the  gift  of  Charles  to  the 
Netherlands,  in  return  for  their  wasted  treasure  and  their  con- 
stant obedience.  For  this,  his  name  deserves  to  be  handed 
down  to  eternal  infamy,  not  only  throughout  the  Netherlands, 
but  in  every  land  where  a  single  heart  beats  for  political  or  relig- 
ious freedom.  To  eradicate  these  institutions  after  they  had 
been  watered  and  watched  by  the  care  of  his  successor,  was  the 
work  of  an  eighty  years'  war,  in  the  course  of  which  millions 
of  lives  were  sacrificed.  Yet  the  abdicating  Emperor  had 
summoned  his  faithful  estates  around  him,  and  stood  up  be- 
fore them  in  his  imperial  robes  for  the  last  time,  to  tell  them 
of  the  affectionate  regard  which  he  had  always  borne  them,  and 
to  mingle  his  tears  with  theirs. 

Could  a  single  phantom  have  risen  from  one  of  the  many 
thousand  graves  where  human  beings  had  been  thrust  alive 
by  his  decree,  perhaps  there  might  have  been  an  answer  to  the 
question  propounded  by  the  Emperor  amid  all  that  piteous 
weeping.  Perhaps  it  might  have  told  the  man  who  asked  his 
hearers  to  be  forgiven  if  he  had  ever  unwittingly  offended 
them,  that  there  was  a  world  where  it  was  deemed  an  offence 
to  torture,  strangle,  burn,  and  drown  one's  innocent  fellow- 
creatures.  The  usual  but  trifling  excuse  for  such  enormities 
can  not  be  pleaded  for  the  Emperor.  Charles  was  no  fanatic. 
The  man  whose  armies  sacked  Rome,  who  laid  his  sacrilegious 
hands  on  Christ's  vicegerent,  and  kept  the  infallible  head  of 
the  Church  a  prisoner  to  serve  his  own  political  ends,  was  then 
no  bigot.  He  believed  in  nothing,  save  that  when  the  course 
of  his  imperial  will  was  impeded,  and  the  interests  of  his  im- 
perial house  in  jeopardy,  pontiffs  were  to  succumb  as  well  as 
anabaptists.  It  was  the  political  heresy  which  lurked  in  the 
restiveness  of  the  religious  refenners  under  dogma,  tradition, 


*  Relazione  di  CI""  Bernardo  Navigero,  1546.     Correspondence  of  Charles  tho 
Fifth;  by  Rev.  W.  Bradford  (London,  1850).  p.  471. 


J.  16  THE    RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

and  supernatural  sanction  to  temporal  power,  which  he  was 
disposed  to  combat  to  the  death.  He  was  too  shrewd  a  poli- 
tician not  to  recognize  the  connection  between  aspirations  for 
religious  and  for  political  freedom.  His  hand  was  ever  ready 
to  crush  both  heresies  in  one.  Had  he  been  a  true  son  of  the 
Church,  a  faithful  champion  of  her  infallibility,  he  would  not 
have  submitted  to  the  peace  of  Passau,  so  long  as  he  could 
bring  a  soldier  to  the  field.  Yet  he  acquiesced  in  the  Reform- 
ation  for  Germany,  while  the  fires  for  burning  the  reformers 
were  ever  blazing  in  the  Netherlands,  where  it  was  death  even 
to  allude  to  the  existence  of  the  peace  of  Passau.  Nor  did  he 
acquiesce  only  from  compulsion,  for  long  before  his  memorable 
defeat  by  Maurice,  he  had  permitted  the  German  troops,  with 
whose  services  he  could  not  dispense,  regularly  to  attend  Prot- 
estant worship  performed  by  their  own  Protestant  chaplains. 
Lutheran  preachers  marched  from  city  to  city  of  the  Nether- 
lands under  the  imperial  banner,  while  the  subjects  of  those 
patrimonial  provinces  were  daily  suffering  on  the  scaffold  for 
their  nonconformity.  The  influence  of  this  garrison-preaching 
upon  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  the  Nethei lands  is 
well  known.  Charles  hated  Lutherans,  but  he  required  soldiers, 
and  he  thus  helped  by  his  own  policy  to  disseminate  what,  had 
he  been  the  fanatic  which  he  perhaps  became  in  retirement,  he 
would  have  sacrificed  his  life  to  crush.  It  is  quite  true  that 
the  growing  Calvinism  of  the  provinces  was  more  dangerous 
both  religiously  and  politically,  than  the  Protestantism  of  the 
German  princes,  which  had  not  yet  been  formally  pronounced 
heresy,  but  it  is  thus  the  more  evident  that  it  was  political 
rather  than  religious  heterodoxy  which  the  despot  wished  to 
suppress. 

No  man,  however,  could  have  been  more  observant  of 
religious  rites.  He  heard  mass  daily.  He  listened  to  a  sermon 
every  Sunday  and  holiday.  He  confessed  and  received  the 
sacrament  four  times  a  year.  He  was  sometimes  to  be  seen 
in  his  tent  at  midnight,  on  his  knees  before  a  crucifix  with 
eyes ,  and  hands  uplifted.  He  ate  no  meat  in  Lent,  and  used 
extraordinary  diligence  to  discover  and  to  punish  any  man, 


1555.]  PERSONAL    QUALITIES.  117 

whether  courtier  or  plebeian,  who  failed  to  fast  during  the 
whole  forty  days.*  He  was  too  good  a  politician  not  to  know 
the  value  of  broad  phylacteries  and  long  prayers.  He  was  too 
nice  an  observer  of  human  nature  not  to  know  how  easily 
•mint  and  cummin  could  still  outweigh  the  "weightier  matters 
of  law,  judgment,  mercy  and  faith  ;"  as  if  the  founder  of  the 
religion  which  he  professed,  and  to  maintain  which  he  had 
established  the  inquisition  and  the  edicts,  had  never  cried  woe 
upon  the  Pharisees.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Emperor 
was  at  times  almost  popular  in  the  Netherlands,  and  that  he 
was  never  as  odious  as  his  successor.  There  were  some  deep 
reasons  for  this,  and  some  superficial  ones  ;  among  others,  a 
singularly  fortunate  manner.  He  spoke  German,  Spanish, 
Italian,  French,  and  Flemish,  and  could  assume  the  character- 
istics of  each  country  as  easily  as  he  could  use  its  language. 
He  could  be  stately  with  Spaniards,  familiar  with  Flemings, 
witty  with  Italians.  He  could  strike  down  a  bull  in  the  ring- 
like  a  matador  at  Madrid,  or  win  the  prize  in  the  tourney  like 
a  knight  of  old  ;  he  could  ride  at  the  ring  with  the  Flemish 
nobles,  hit  the  popinjay  with  his  crossbow  among  Antwerp 
artisans,  or  drink  beer  and  exchange  rude  jests  with  the  boors 
of  Brabant.  For  virtues  such  as  these,  his  grave  crimes 
against  God  and  man,  against  religion  and  chartered  and 
solemnly-sworn  rights  have  been  palliated,  as  if  oppression  be- 
came more  tolerable  because  the  oppressor  was  an  accom- 
plished linguist  and  a  good  marksman. 

But  the  great  reason  for  his  popularity  no  doubt  lay  in  his 


*  " Ha  Sua  M'»  in  tutti  i  suoi  ragionamenti  et  atti  esteriori  mostrate  haver 

la  fede  cattei  in  somma  osservanza,  et  in  tutta  la  vita  sua  ha  udita  la  messe  ogni 

giorno  et  gran  tempo  due  et  hora  tre -et  le  prediche  nei  giorni  6olenni,  et  in 

tutte  lo  cose  le  feste  de  la  quadragesima  et  alle  volto  vesperi  et  altri  divini  officii 
et  hora  si  fa  ogni  giorno  leggero  la  bibbia  et  come  ha  usato  di  confesarsi  et  com- 

municarsi  ogni  anno  quatro  volte e  quando  alia  si  ritrova  al  Ingolstadt  et 

avicinata  al  exercitio  degli  protestanti,/w  veduta  mezza  notte  nel  suo  padiglione  in 
ginocchioni  avanti  un  crocifisso  con  le  mani  quinte  et  la  quadragesima  innanzifecc 
una  diligenza  extraordinaria  per  intendere  chi  nelle  corte  magnava  came,"  etc.,  etc. 
— Badovaro  MS. 


118  THE   RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555- 

military  genius.  Charles  was  inferior  to  no  general  of  his 
age.  "  "When  he  was  born  into  the  world/'  said  Alva,  "  he 
was  born  a  soldier/*'0  and  the  Emperor  confirmed  the  state- 
ment and  reciprocated  the  compliment,  when  he  declared  that 
"  the  three  first  captains  of  the  age  were  himself  first,  and  then 
the  Duke  of  Alva  and  Constable  Montmorency. "f  It  is  quite 
true  that  all  his  officers  were  not  of  the  same  opinion,  and 
many  were  too  apt  to  complain  that  his  constant  presence  in 
the  field  did  more  harm  than  good,  and  "  that  his  Majesty 
would  do  much  better  to  stay  at  home.":":  There  is,  however, 
no  doubt  that  he  was  both  a  good  soldier  and  a  good  general. 
He  was  constitutionally  fearless,  and  he  possessed  great  energy 
and  endurance.  He  was  ever  the  first  to  arm  when  a  battle 
was  to  be  fought,  and  the  last  to  take  off  his  harness.§  He 
commanded  in  person  and  in  chief,  even  when  surrounded  by 
veterans  and  crippled  by  the  gout.  He  was  calm  in  great 
reverses.  It  was  said  that  he  was  never  known  to  change  color 
except  upon  two  occasions  :  after  the  fatal  destruction  of  his 
fleet  at  Algiers,  and  in  the  memorable  flight  from  Innspruck. 
He  was  of  a  phlegmatic,  stoical  temperament,  until  shattered 
by  age  and  disease  ;  a  man  without  a  sentiment  and  without 
a  tear.  It  was  said  by  Spaniards  that  he  was  never  seen  to 
weep,  even  at  the  death  of  his  nearest  relatives  and  friends, 
except  on  the  solitary  occasion  of  the  departure  of  Don 
Ferrante  Gonzaga  from  court.[|  Such  a  temperament  was 
invaluable  in  the  stormy  career  to  which  he  had  devoted  his 


*  "  Pero  acuerdesele  a  V.  E.  que  es  hijo  de  tal  padre,  qui  en  naciendo  en  el 
mundo  nacio  soldado." — Carta  del  Duque  de  Alba  al  Sor  Don  Juan  de  Austria. 
Documentos  ineditos  para  la  Historia  de  Espafia,  vol.  iii.  273-283. 

f  Brantome.  Hommes  Illustres  et  Grands  Capitaines  Estrangers ;  art. 
Charles  V. 

If.  Relatione  di  B1  Navigero — apud  Bradford  Correspondence ;  p.  450. 

§  " e  poi  aversi  voluto  trovar  presente  alle  vere  e  essere  stato  il  primo  ad 

armarsi  et  ultimo  a  spogliarsi  ha  dimostrato  in  somma  d'esser  gran  capitano 
d'effetti  grandi,"  etc.,  etc. — Badovaro  MS. 

|  " ho  da  Spagnuoli  sentito  che  ne  per  alcun  accidente  di  morte  di  con- 

gionta  di  sangue  ne  di  gran  ministri  suoi  cari  e  stata  veduta  piangere,  se  non  alia 
partita  delle  corte  di  Don  Ferranto  Gonzaga." — Badovaro  MS. 


1555.]  ENERGY  AND  COURAGE.  119 

life.  He  was  essentially  a  man  of  action,  a  military  chieftain. 
"  Pray  only  for  my  health  and  my  life,"  he  was  accustomed  to 
say  to  the  young  officers  who  came  to  him  from  every  part  of 
his  dominions  to  serve  under  his  banners,  "  for  so  long  as  I 
*  have  these  I  will  never  leave  you  idle  ;  at  least  in  France.  I 
love  peace  no  better  than  the  rest  of  you.  I  was  born  and 
bred  to  arms,  and  must  of  necessity  keep  on  my  harness  till 
I  can  bear  it  no  longer."0  The  restless  energy  and  the  mag- 
nificent tranquillity  of  his  character  made  him  a  hero  among 
princes,  an  idol  with  his  officers,  a  popular  favorite  every 
where.  The  promptness  with  which,  at  much  personal  hazard, 
he  descended  like  a  thunderbolt  in  the  midst  of  the  Ghent 
insurrection ;  the  juvenile  ardor  with  which  the  almost  bed- 
ridden man  arose  from  his  sick-bed  to  smite  the  Protestants 
at  Miihlberg ;  the  grim  stoicism  with  which  he  saw  sixty 
thousand  of  his  own  soldiers  perish  in  the  wintry  siege  of 
Metz  ;  all  ensured  him  a  large  measure  of  that  applause  which 
ever  follows  military  distinction,  especially  when  the  man 
who  achieves  it  happens  to  wear  a  crown.  He  combined,  the 
personal  prowess  of  a  knight  of  old  with  the  more  modern 
accomplishments  of  a  scientific  tactician.  He  could  charge 
the  enemy  in  person  like  the  most  brilliant  cavalry  officer, 
and  he  thoroughly  understood  the  arrangements  of  a  cam- 
paign, the  marshalling  and  victualling  of  troops,  and  the  whole 
art  of  setting  and  maintaining  an  army  in  the  field.f 

Yet,  though  brave  and  warlike  as  the  most  chivalrous  of  his 
ancestors,  Gothic,  Burgundian,  or  Suabian,  he  was  entirely 
without  chivalry.  Fanaticism  for  the  faith,  protection  for  the 
oppressed,  fidelity  to  friend  and  foe,  knightly  loyalty  to  a  cause 
deemed  sacred,  the  sacrifice  of  personal  interests  to  great  ideas, 
generosity  of  hand  and  heart ;  all  those  qualities  which  unite 


*  Brantome.     Grauds  Capitaines;  art.  Charles  Quint. 

f  "  Ella  ha messosi  ad  imprese  non  solo  pericolose  a  difficile  ma  che  tenerano 

dell  impossibile ma  nel  sostenerli  ha  mostrato  gran  intelligenza  e  nel  fare  ap- 

parecchio  delle  cose  degli  eserciti,  nell  ordine  di  metter  gli  insieme,  vedergli  mar- 
ciare,  far  le  battalie  finite,"  etc.,  etc. — Badovaro  MS. 


120  THE   RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

with  courage  and  constancy  to  make  up  the  ideal  chevalier, 
Charles  not  only  lacked  but  despised.  He  trampled  on  the 
weak  antagonist,  whether  burgher  or  petty  potentate.  He 
was  false  as  water.  He  inveigled  his  foes  who  trusted  to  im- 
perial promises,  by  arts  unworthy  an  emperor  or  a  gentleman.* 
He  led  about  the  unfortunate  John  Frederic  of  Saxony,  in  his 
own  language,  "  like  a  bear  in  a  chain,"  ready  to  be  slipped 
Upon  Maurice  should  "  the  boy"  prove  ungrateful.  He  con- 
nived at  the  famous  forgery  of  the  prelate  of  Arras,  to  which 
the  Landgrave  Philip  owed  his  long  imprisonment ;  a  villany 
worse  than  many  for  which  humbler  rogues  have  suffered  by 
thousands  upon  the  gallows.f  The  contemporary  world  knew 
well  the  history  of  his  frauds,  on  scale  both  colossal  and 
minute,  and  called  him  familiarly  "  Charles  qui  triche."| 

The  absolute  master  of  realms  on  which  the  sun  perpetually 
shone,  he  was  not  only  greedy  for  additional  dominion,  but  he 
was  avaricious  in  small  matters,  and  hated  to  part  with  a 
hundred  dollars.^  To  the  soldier  who  brought  him  the  sword 
and  gauntlets  of  Francis  the  First,  he  gave  a  hundred  crowns, 
when  ten  thousand  would  have  been  less  than  the  customary 
present ;  so  that  the  man  left  his  presence  full  of  desperation. 
The  three  soldiers  who  swam  the  Elbe,  with  their  swords  in 
their  mouths,  to  bring  him  the  boats  with  which  he  passed 
to  the  victory  of  Muhlberg,  received  from  his  imperial 
bounty  a    doublet,    a    pair   of   stockings,    and    four   crowns 


*  "  In  rebus  agendis  tractandisque,"  says  one  of  his  greatest  contemporary  ad- 
inirers,  "simulator  egregius,  fidei  liberioris,  privati  commodi  perquam  studiosus, 
atque  ut  uno  verbo  dicam  alter  avus  matemus  Ferdinandus  Catholicus." — Font 
Ileut.  xiv.  34Ga. 

t  De  Thou,  Histoire  Universelle  (Londres,  1734),  i.  267,  599. — Compare  Groen 
Van  Frinsterer.  Archives  et  Correspondance  Inc'dite  do  la  Maison  d'Orange 
Nassau  (Leide,  1S38),  t.  v.,  63,  G5,  66.  E.  II.  Pfeilschmidt,  Vor  drei  hundert 
Jahren.  Blatter  der  Erinnerung  an  Kurfuist  Moritz  Von  Sachsen  (Dresden, 
1852),  p.  10.     Vide  Postea. 

J  Brantome ;  art.  Charles  Quint. 

§  "Ad  alcuni  della  corte  di  S.  M.  ho  inteso  dire  ella  haver  paruto  natura  tale 
chenel  dare  cento  scudi  ha  considerato  tmppo  minutamcnte,"  etc. — Badovaro  IMS. 


1555.]  SELFISH   AIMS.  121 

apiece.*  His  courtiers  and  ministers  complained  bitterly  of  his 
habitual  niggardliness,  and  were  fain  to  eke  out  their  slender 
salaries  by  accepting  bribes  from  every  hand  rich  enough  to 
bestow  them.  In  truth  Charles  was  more  than  any  tiling  else 
a  politician,  notwithstanding  his  signal  abilities  as  a  soldier. 
If  to  have  founded  institutions  which  could  last,  be  the  test  of 
statesmanship,  he  was  even  a  statesman  ;  for  many  of  his  insti- 
tutions have  resisted  the  pressure  of  three  centuries.  But  those 
of  Charlemagne  fell  as  soon  as  his  hand  was  cold,  while  the 
works  of  many  ordinary  legislators  have  attained  to  a  perpetuity 
denied  to  the  statutes  of  Solon  or  Lycurgus.  Durability  is 
not  the  test  of  merit  in  human  institutions.  Tried  by  the 
only  touchstone  applicable  to  governments,  their  capacity  to 
insure  the  highest  welfare  of  the  governed,  we  shall  not  find 
his  polity  deserving  of  much  admiration.  It  is  not  merely 
that  he  was  a  despot  by  birth  and  inclination,  nor  that  he 
naturally  substituted  as  far  as  was  practicable,  the  despotic 
for  the  republican  element,  wherever  his  hand  can  be  traced. 
There  may  be  possible  good  in  despotisms  as  there  is  often 
much  tyranny  in  democracy.  Tried  however  according  to 
the  standard  by  which  all  governments  may  be  measured, 
those  laws  of  truth  and  divine  justice  which  all  Christian 
nations  recognize,  and  which  are  perpetual,  whether  recognized 
or  not,  we  shall  find  little  to  venerate  in  the  life  work  of  the 
Emperor.  The  interests  of  his  family,  the  security  of  his 
dynasty,  these  were  his  end  and  aim.  The  happiness  or  the 
progress  of  his  people  never  furnished  even  the  indirect  motives 
of  his  conduct,  and  the  result  was  a  baffled  policy  and  a  crip- 
pled and  bankrupt  empire  at  last. 

He  knew  men,  especially  he  knew  their  weaknesses,  and  he 
knew  how  to  turn  them  to  account.  He  knew  how  much  they 
would  bear,  and  that  little  grievances  would  sometimes  inflame 
more  than  vast  and  deliberate  injustice.  Therefore  he  em- 
ployed natives  mainly  in  the  subordinate  offices  of  his  various 
states,  and  he  repeatedly  warned  his  successor  that  the  haugh- 


*  .Badovaro  MS. 


122  THE    KISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    EEPUBLIC.  [1555. 

tiness  of  Spaniards  and  the  incompatibility  of  their  character 
with  the  Flemish,  would  be  productive  of  great  difficulties  and 
dangers.*  It  was  his  opinion  that  men  might  be  tyrannized 
more  intelligently  by  their  own  kindred,  and  in  this  perhaps 
he  was  right.  He  was  indefatigable  in  the  discharge  of 
business,  and  if  it  were  possible  that  half  a  world  could  be 
administered  as  if  it  were  the  private  property  of  an  indi- 
vidual, the  task  would  have  been  perhaps  as  well  accomplished 
by  Charles  as  by  any  man.  He  had  not  the  absurdity  of  sup- 
posing it  possible  for  him  to  attend  to  the  details  of  every 
individual  affair  in  every  one  of  his  realms  ;  and  he  therefore 
intrusted  the  stewardship  of  all  specialities  to  his  various 
ministers  and  agents.  It  was  his  business  to  know  men  and 
to  deal  with  affairs  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  this  he  certainly 
was  superior  to  his  successor.  His  correspondence  was  mainly 
in  the  hands  of  Granvelle  the  elder,  who  analyzed  letters 
received,  and  frequently  wrote  all  but  the  signatures  of  the 
answers.  The  same  minister  usually  possessed  the  imperial 
ear,  and  farmed  it  out  for  his  own  benefit.  In  all  this  there 
was  of  course  room  for  vast  deception,  but  the  Emperor  was 
quite  aware  of  what  was  going  on,  and  took  a  philosophic  view 
of  the  matter  as  an  inevitable  part  of  his  system.f  Granvelle 
grew  enormously  rich  under  his  eye  by  trading  on  the  im- 
perial favor  and  sparing  his  majesty  much  trouble.  Charles 
saw  it  all,  ridiculed  his  peculations,  but  called  him  his  "  bed  of 
down.";j:  His  knowledge  of  human  nature  was  however 
derived  from  a  contemplation  mainly  of  its  weaknesses,  and 
was  therefore  one-sided.  He  was  often  deceived,  and  made 
many  a  fatal  blunder,  shrewd  politician  though  he  was.  He 
involved  himself  often  in  enterprises  which  could  not  bo 
honorable  or  profitable,  and  which  inflicted  damage  on  his 


*  Apologio  d'Orange,  47,  48. 

•)•  Relazione  di  Navigero,  apud  Bradford,  p.  445. 

%  "Nous  avons  perdu,"  wrote  the  Emperor  to  Philip  ou  the  elder  Granvelle's 
death,  "  un  bon  lit  de  repos." — Dora  l'Evesque,  Memoires  pour  servir  a  l'Histoire 
du  Card,  de  Granvelle  (Paris,  1753)  i.  180. 


1555.]  PERSONAL   HABITS.  123 

greatest  interests.  He  often  offended  men  who  might  have 
been  useful  friends,  and  converted  allies  into  enemies.  "  His 
Majesty/'  said  a  keen  observer  who  knew  him  well,  "has  not 
in  his  career  shown  the  prudence  which  was  necessary  to  him. 
He  has  often  offended  those  whose  love  he  might  have  con- 
ciliated, converted  friends  into  enemies,  and  let  those  perish 
who  were  his  most  faithful  partisans."  *  Thus  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  even  his  boasted  knowledge  of  human 
nature  and  his  power  of  dealing  with  men  was  rather 
.superficial  and  empirical  than  the  real  gift  of  genius. 

His  personal  habits  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life  were 
those  of  an  indefatigable  soldier.  He  could  remain  in  the 
saddle  day  and  night,  and  endure  every  hardship  but  hunger. 
He  was  addicted  to  vulgar  and  miscellaneous  incontinence."}" 
He  was  an  enormous  eater.  He  breakfasted  at  five,  on  a  fowl 
seethed  in  milk  and  dressed  with  sugar  and  spices.  After 
this  he  went  to  sleep  again.  He  dined  at  twelve,  partaking 
always  of  twenty  dishes.  He  supped  twice  ;  at  first,  soon 
after  vespers,  and  the  second  time  at  midnight  or  one  o'clock, 
which  meal  was,  perhaps,  the  most  solid  of  the  four.  After 
meat  he  ate  a  great  quantity  of  pastry  and  sweetmeats,  and  he 
irrigated  every  repast  by  vast  draughts  of  beer  and  wine4 
His  stomach,  originally  a  wonderful  one,  succumbed  after  forty 
years  of  such  labors.  His  taste,  but  not  his  appetite  began  to 
fail,  and  he  complained  to  his  major  domo,  that  all  his  food 
was  insipid.  The  reply  is,  perhaps,  among  the  most  cele- 
brated of  facetiae.     The  cook  could  do  nothing  more  unless  lie 


*  Badovaro  MS. 

f  " et  e  stato  ne  piaceri  venerei  di  non  temperata  volunta  in  ogni  parte 

dove  si  o  trovata  con  donne  di  grande  ct  anco  di  piccola  conditione." — Bado- 
varo MS. 

\  "  Nel  magnare  ha  sempre  S.  M'  •  ccccsa,  ct  fino  al  tempo  che  ella  parti  di 
Fiandra  per  Spagna,  la  mattina  svegliate  che  alia  era,  pigliava  una  scatola  di 
pistochi,  Cappone  con  latte,  zuccaro  e  spetiarie,  dopo  il  quale  tornava  a  riposare. 
A  mezzo  giorno  desinava  molto  varieta  di  vivande,  e  poco  di  po  vespro  me  rend- 
ava,  et  ad  una  hora  di  notte  se  n'andava  a  cena,  magnando  cose  tutte  da  generaro 
humori  grossi  e  viscosi." — Badovaro  MS.  Compare  Navigero,  Relazione,  apud 
Bradford,  p.  365. 


124  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

served  his  Majesty  a  pasty  of  watches.  The  allusion  to  the 
Emperor's  passion  for  horology  was  received  with  great 
aj>plause.  Charles  "  laughed  longer  than  he  was  ever  known 
to  laugh  before,  and  all  the  courtiers  (of  course)  laughed  as 
long  as  his  Majesty."  *  The  success  of  so  sorry  a  jest  would 
lead  one  to  suppose  that  the  fooling  was  less  admirable  at  the 
imperial  court  than  some  of  the  recorded  quips  of  Tribaulet 
would  lead  us  to  suppose. 

The  transfer  of  the  other  crowns  and  dignitaries  to  Philip, 
was  accomplished  a  month  afterwards,  in  a  quiet  manner,  f 
Spain,  Sicily,  the  Balearic  Islands,  America,  and  other  portions 
of  the  globe,  were  made  over  without  more  display  than 
an  ordinary  donatio  inter  vivos.  The  Empire  occasioned  some 
difficulty.  It  had  been  already  signified  to  Ferdinand,  that 
his  brother  was  to  resign  the  imperial  crown  in  his  favor,  and 
the  symbols  of  sovereignty  were  accordingly  transmitted  to 
Mm  by  the  hands  of  William  of  Orange.^  A  deputation, 
moreover,  of  which  that  nobleman,  Vice-Chancellor  Seld, 
and  Dr.  Wolfgang  Haller  were  the  chiefs,  was  despatched 
to  signify  to  the  electors  of  the  Empire  the  step  which  had 
been  thus  resolved  upon.  A  delay  of  more  than  two  years, 
however,  intervened,  occasioned  partly  by  the  deaths  of  three 
electors,  partly  by  the  war  which  so  soon  broke  out  in 
Europe,  before  the  matter  was  formally  acted  upon.§  In 
February,  1553,  however,  the  electors,  having  been  assem- 
bled in  Frankfort,  received  the  abdication  of  Charles,  and 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  Ferdinand. ||  That  Emperor  was 
crowned  in  March,  and  immediately  despatched  a  legation  to 
the  Pope  to  apprize  him  of  the  fact.  Nothing  was  less  ex- 
pected than  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  pontiff.  The 
querulous  dotard,  however,  who  then  sat  in  St.  Peter's  chair, 


*  " una  nuova  vivanda  di  pasticci  di  orologii,  il  che  mosse  a  quel  maggior 

c  piu  lungo  riso  che  mai  sia  stalo  in  lei  et  cosi  risero  quelli  di  camera,"  etc.,  etc. — 
Badovaro  MS. 

f  Godelaevus,  645,  .sqq.     Van  Meteren,  i,  17.  Bor,  i.  6.,  sqq. 

J  Godelaevus,  G46,  sqq.     Pont.  Heut.  xiv.  645,  sqq.     Meteren,  17. 

§  Godelaevus,  646,  sqq.  ||  Ibid. 


1555.]  CONCLUDING   FORMALITIES.  125 

hated  Charles  and  all  his  race.  He  accordingly  denied  the 
validity  of  the  whole  transaction,  without  sanction  previously 
obtained  from  the  Pope,  to  whom  all  crowns  belonged.  Fer- 
dinand, after  listening,  through  his  envoys,  to  much  ridiculous 
*  dogmatism  on  the  part  of  the  Pope,  at  last  withdrew  from  the 
discussion,  with  a  formal  protest,  and  was  first  recognized  by 
Caraffa's  successor,  Pius  IV.'::" 

Charles  had  not  deferred  his  retirement  till  the  end  of  these 
disputes.  He  occupied  a  private  house  in  Brussels,  near  the 
gate  of  Louvain,  until  August  of  the  year  1556.  On  the 
27th  of  that  month,  he  addressed  a  letter  from  Ghent  to  John 
of  Osnabruck,  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Spiers,  stating  his 
abdication  in  favor  of  Ferdinand,  and  requesting  that  in  the 
interim  the  same  obedience  might  be  rendered  to  Ferdinand, 
as  could  have  been  yielded  to  himself. f  Ten  days  later,  he 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  estates  of  the  Empire,  stating  the 
same  fact  ;  and  on  the  17th  September,  1556,  he  set  sail  from 
Zeland  for  Spain.  J  These  delays  and  difficulties  occasioned 
some  misconceptions.  Many  persons  who  did  not  admire  an 
abdication,  which  others,  on  the  contrary,  esteemed  as  an  act  of 
unexampled  magnanimity,  stoutly  denied  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  Charles  to  renounce  the  Empire.  The  Venetian 
envoy  informed  his  government  that  Ferdinand  was  only  to 
be  lieutenant  for  Charles,  under  strict  limitations,  and  that  the 
Emperor  was  to  resume  the  government  so  soon  as  his  health 
would  allow.§  The  Bishop  of  Arras  and  Don  Juan  de 
Manrique  had  both  assured  him,  he  said,  that  Charles  would 
not,  on  any  account,  definitely  abdicate.  ||  Manrique  even 
asserted  that  it  was  a  mere  farce  to  believe  in  any  such 
intention.^"  The  Emperor  ought  to  remain  to  protect  his  son, 
by  the  resources  of  the  Empire,  against  France,  the  Turks,  and 
the  heretics.    His  very  shadow  was  terrible  to  the  Lutherans,*'-" 


*  Godelaevus,  654,  sqq.  \  Ibid.,  654  . 

%  Godelaevus,  645,  sqq.  §  Badovaro. 

1  Ibid.  ^[  " che  era  cosa  di  burla  a  crederlo." — Ibid. 

**  "  Parendo  loro  che  solo  l'orabra  sua  sia  da  Luterani  temuta." — Ibid. 


126  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

and  his  form  might  be  expected  to  rise  again  in  stern  reality 
from  its  temporary  grave.  Time  has  shown  the  falsity  of  all 
these  imaginings,  but  views  thus  maintained  by  those  in  the 
best  condition  to  know  the  truth,  prove  how  difficult  it  was  for 
men  to  believe  in  a  transaction  which  was  then  so  extraor- 
dinary, and  how  little  consonant  it  was  in  their  eyes  with  true 
propriety.  It  was  necessary  to  ascend  to  the  times  of  Diocle- 
tian, to  find  an  example  of  a  similar  abdication  of  empire,  on 
so  deliberate  and  extensive  a  scale,  and  the  great  English 
historian  of  the  Eoman  Empire  has  compared  the  two 
acts  with  each  other.  But  there  seems  a  vast  difference 
between  the  cases.  Both  emperors  were  distinguished 
soldiers  ;  both  were  merciless  persecutors  of  defenceless  Chris- 
tians ;  both  exchanged  unbounded  empire  for  absolute  seclu- 
sion. But  Diocletian  was  born  in  the  lowest  abyss  of  human 
degradation — the  slave  and  the  son  of  a  slave.  For  such 
a  man,  after  having  reached  the  highest  pinnacle  of  human 
greatness,  voluntarily  to  descend  from  power,  seems  an  act 
of  far  greater  magnanimity  than  the  retreat  of  Charles.  Born 
in  the  purple,  having  exercised  unlimited  authority  from 
his  boyhood,  and  having  worn  from  his  cradle  so  many  crowns 
and  coronets,  the  German  Emperor  might  well  be  supposed  to 
have  learned  to  estimate  them  at  their  proper  value.  Contem- 
porary minds  were  busy,  however,  to  discover  the  hidden 
motives  which  could  have  influenced  him,  and  the  Avorld,  even 
yet,  has  hardly  ceased  to  wonder.  Yet  it  would  have  been 
more  wonderful,  considering  the  Emperor's  character,  had  he 
remained.  The  end  had  not  crowned  the  work  ;  it  not  unrea- 
sonably discrowned  the  workman.  The  earlier,  and  indeed  the 
greater  part  of  his  career  had  been  one  unbroken  procession  of 
triumphs.  The  cherished  dream  of  his  grandfather,0  and  of  his 
own  youth,f  to  add  the  Pope's  triple  crown  to  the  rest  of  the 
hereditary   possessions   of   his   family,   he    had    indeed    been 


*  Introduction   to  this  work. 

f  Brantome.      Hommes    Illustres,    etc. ;    art.    Charles    Quint.      Bayle,    Diet. 
Hist,  et  Crit. ;  art.  Charles  Quint. 


1555.]  the  emperor's  reverses.  127 

obliged  to  resign.  He  had  too  much  practical  Flemish  sense 
to  indulge  long  in  chimeras,  but  he  had  achieved  the  Empire 
over  formidable  rivals,  and  he  had  successively  not  only  con- 
quered, but  captured  almost  every  potentate  who  had  arrayed 
•himself  in  amis  against  him.  Clement  and  Francis,  the 
Dukes  and  Landgraves  of  Cleves,  Hesse,  Saxony,  and  Bruns- 
wick, he  had  bound  to  his  chariot  wheels  ;  forcing  many  to  eat 
the  bread  of  humiliation  and  captivity,  during  long  and  weary 
years.  But  the  concluding  portion  of  his  reign  had  reversed 
all  its  previous  glories.  His  whole  career  had  been  a  failme. 
He  had  been  defeated,  after  all,  in  most  of  his  projects.  He 
had  humbled  Francis,  but  Henry  had  most  signally  avenged 
his  father.  He  had  trampled  upon  Philip  of  Hesse  and 
Frederic  of  Saxony,  but  it  had  been  reserved  for  one  of  that 
German  race,  which  he  characterized  as  "dreamy,  drunken, 
and  incapable  of  intrigue,"  to  outwit  the  man  who  had  out- 
witted all  the  world,  and  to  drive  before  him,  in  ignominious 
flight,  the  conqueror  of  the  nations.  The  German  lad  who 
had  learned  both  war  and  dissimulation  in  the  court  and  camp 
of  him  who  was  so  profound  a  master  of  both  arts,  was  destined 
to  eclipse  his  teacher  on  the  most  august  theatre  of  Christen- 
dom. Absorbed  at  Innspruck  with  the  deliberations  of  the 
Trent  Council,  Charles  had  not  heeded  the  distant  mutterings 
of  the  tempest  which  was  gathering  around  him.  While  he 
was  preparing  to  crush,  forever,  the  Protestant  Church,  with 
the  arms  which  a  bench  of  bishops  were  forging,  lo  !  the 
rapid  and  desperate  Maurice,  with  long  red  beard  streaming 
like  a  meteor  in  the  wind,  dashing  through  the  mountain 
passes,  at  the  head  of  his  lancers — arguments  more  convincing 
than  all  the  dogmas  of  Granvclle  !  Disguised  as  an  old 
woman, *  the  Emperor  had  attempted  on  the  6th  April,  to 
escape  in  a  peasant's  wagon,  from  Innspruck  into  Flanders. 
Saved  for  the  time  by  the  mediation  of  Ferdinand,  he  had,  a 
few  weeks  later,  after  his  troops  had  been  defeated  by  Maurice, 


*  " in  iirmlicher,  man  sagt,  sogar  in  Frauentracht." — Pfeilschmidt.  Vor 

Dreihundert  Jahren,  p.  56. 


128  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

at  Fiissen,  again  fled  at  midnight  of  the  22nd  May,  almost 
unattended,  sick  in  body  and  soul,  in  the  midst  of  thunder, 
lightning,  and  rain,  along  the  difficult  Alpine  passes  from 
Innspruck  into  Carinthia.  His  pupil  had  permitted  his 
escape,  only  because  in  his  own  language,  "  for  such  a  bird  he 
had  no  convenient  cage."*  The  imprisoned  princes  now  owed 
their  liberation,  not  to  the  Emperor's  clemency,  but  to  his 
panic.  The  peace  of  Passau,  in  the  following  August,  crushed 
the  whole  fabric  of  the  Emperor's  toil,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  Protestant  Church.  He  had  smitten  the  Protestants  at 
Miihlberg  for  the  last  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  man  who 
had  dealt  with  Borne,  as  if  the  Pope,  not  he,  had  been  the 
vassal,  was  compelled  to  witness,  before  he  departed,  the 
insolence  of  a  pontiff  who  took  a  special  pride  in  insulting  and 
humbling  his  house,  and  trampling  upon  the  pride  of  Charles, 
Philip  and  Ferdinand.  In  France  too,  the  disastrous  siege  of 
Metz  had  taught  him  that  in  the  imperial  zodiac  the  fatal  sign 
of  Cancer  had  been  reached.  The  figure  of  a  crab,  with  the 
words  "  plus  citra,"  instead  of  his  proud  motto  of  "  plus 
ultra,"  scrawled  on  the  walls  where  he  had  resided  during 
that  dismal  epoch,  avenged  more  deeply,  perhaps,  than  the 
jester  thought,  the  previous  misfortunes  of  France.f  The 
Grand  Turk,  too,  Solyman  the  Magnificent,  possessed  most  of 
Hungary,  and  held  at  that  moment  a  fleet  ready  to  sail  against 
Naples,  in  co-operation  with  the  Pope  and  France.*  Thus  the 
Infidel,  the  Protestant,  and  the  Holy  Church  were  all  combined 
together  to  crush  him.  Towards  all  the  great  powers  of  the 
earth,  he  stood  not  in  the  attitude  of  a  conqueror,  but 
of  a  disappointed,  baffled,  defeated  potentate.  Moreover, 
he  had  been  foiled  long  before  in  his  earnest  attempts 
to  secure  the  imperial  throne  for  Philip.  Ferdinand  and 
Maximilian  had  both  stoutly  resisted  his  arguments  and  his 
blandishments.    The  father  had  represented  the  slender  patri- 


*  " fiir  einen  solchen  Vogol,"  sagte  cr,  "  habe  er  keinen  Kafig." — Pfeil- 

schmidt,  58. 

f  Hisioire  du  Due  d'Albe,  i.  3G0  (ed.  Paris,  1698).  %  Cabrera,  i.  32. 


1555.]  CAUSES    OF    THE    ABDICATION.  129 

mony  of  their  branch  of  the  family,  compared  with  the 
enormous  heritage  of  Philip  ;  who,  being  after  all,  but  a  man, 
and  endowed  with  finite  powers,  might  sink  under  so  great  a 
pressure  of  empire  as  his  father  wished  to  provide  for  him.* 
JVlaximilian,  also,  assured  his  uncle  that  he  had  as  good  an 
appetite  for  the  crown  as  Philip,  and  could  digest  the  dignity 
quite  as  easily,  f  The  son,  too,  for  whom  the  Emperor 
was  thus  solicitous,  had  already,  before  the  abdication,  repaid 
his  affection  with  ingratitude.  He  had  turned  out  all  his 
father's  old  officials  in  Milan,  and  had  refused  to  visit  him  at 
Brussels,  till  assured  as  to  the  amount  of  ceremonial  respect 
which  the  new-made  king  was  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  his 
father.  + 

Had  the  Emperor  continued  to  live  and  reign,  he  would 
have  found  himself  likewise  engaged  in  mortal  combat  with 
that  great  religious  movement  in  the  Netherlands,  which  he 
would  not  have  been  able  many  years  longer  to  suppress,  and 
which  he  left  as  a  legacy  of  blood  and  fire  to  his  successor. 
Born  in  the  same  year  with  his  century,  Charles  was  a 
decrepit,  exhausted  man  at  fifty-five,  while  that  glorious 
age,  in  which  humanity  was  to  burst  forever  the  cerements  in 
which  it  had  so  long  been  buried,  was  but  awakening  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  its  strength. 

Disappointed  in  his  schemes,  broken  in  his  fortunes,  with 
income  anticipated,  estates  mortgaged,  all  his  affairs  in  con- 
fusion ;  fading  in  mental  powers,  and  with  a  constitution 
hopelessly  shattered  ;  it  was  time  for  him  to  retire.  He  showed 
his  keenness  in  recognizing  the  fact  that  neither  his  power 
nor  his  glory  would  be  increased,  should  he  lag  superfluous  on 
the  stage  where  mortification  instead  of  applause  was  likely  to 
be  his  portion.      His  frame  was  indeed  but  a  wreck.      Forty 


*  " Principem  Philippum  hominem  esse  finitasque  habere   vires    atque 

ingenium  captumque  tantum  humanum." — Pont.  Heut.  xii.  301. 

f  Brantome,  i.  49,  50. 

\  Dom  l'Evesque.  Mem.  de  Granv.  i.  24-26. — "  Cet  embarras,"  says  the 
Benedictine,  "fut  la  veritable  cause  de  son  abdication  et  de  sa  retraicte  dans  le 
Convent  de  Juste.     La  politique  s'epuiseroit  en  vain  a  en  chercher  une  autre," 

VOL.    L  9 


130  THE    KISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

years  of  unexampled  gluttony  had  done  their  work.  He  was 
a  victim  to  gout,  asthma,  dyspepsia,  gravel.  He  was  crippled 
in  the  neck,  arms,  knees,  and  hands.  He  was  troubled  with 
chronic  cutaneous  eruptions.  His  appetite  remained,  while  his 
stomach,  unable  longer  to  perform  the  task  still  imposed  upon 
it,  occasioned  him  constant  suffering.  Physiologists,  who 
know  how  important  a  part  this  organ  plays  in  the  affairs  of 
life,  will  perhaps  see  in  this  physical  condition  of  the  Emperor 
a  sufficient  explanation,  if  explanation  were  required,  of  his 
descent  from  the  throne.  Moreover,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
resolution  to  abdicate  before  his  death  had  been  long  a  settled 
scheme  with  him.  It  had  been  formally  agreed  between  him- 
self and  the  Empress  that  they  should  separate  at  the  approach 
of  old  age,  and  pass  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  a  convent 
and  a  monastery.  He  had,  when  comparatively  a  young  man, 
been  struck  by  the  reply  made  to  him  by  an  aged  officer,  whose 
reasons  he  had  asked  for,  earnestly  soliciting  permission  to  retire 
from  the  imperial  service.  It  was,  said  the  veteran,  that  he 
might  put  a  little  space  of  religious  contemplation  between  the 
active  portion  of  his  life  and  the  grave.* 

A  similar  determination,  deferred  from  time  to  time,  Charles 
had  now  carried  into  execution.  While  he  still  lingered  in 
Brussels,  after  Ins  abdication,  a  comet  appeared,  to  warn  hini 
to  the  fulfilment  of  his  purpose.f  From  first  to  last,  comets 
and  other  heavenly  bodies  were  much  connected  with  his 
evolutions  and  arrangements.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
motives  with  which  this  luminary  had  presented  itself.  The 
Emperor  knew  very  well,  says  a  contemporary  German 
chronicler,  that  it  portended  pestilence  and  war,  together  with 
the  approaching  death  of  mighty  princes.  "  My  fates  call 
out,"  |  he  cried,  and  forthwith  applied  himself  to  hasten  the 
preparations  for  his  departure. 


*  Strada,  i.  18.  f  Godelaevus,  645. 

\  " ingens   et   lucidum  sydus — flammiferum  crinem  trahens    in    octavo 

librae  gradu  conspici  cceptum — at  Carolus  sciens  hujus  visione  magnorum  princi- 
pum  interitus — eo  conspecto."  His  inquit  indiciis,  me  meet,  fata  vocanl"  etc. — 
Godelaevus,  645. 


1555.]  RETIREMENT  AT  JUSTE.  131 

The  romantic  picture  of  his  philosophical  retirement  at 
Juste,  painted  originally  by  Sandoval  and  Siguenza,  repro- 
duced by  the  fascinating  pencil  of  Strada,  and  imitated  in 
frequent  succession  by  authors  of  every  age  and  country,  is  un- 
fortunately but  a  sketch  of  fancy.  The  investigations  of 
modern  writers  have  entirely  thrown  down  the  scaffolding 
on  winch  the  airy  fabric,  so  delightful  to  poets  and  moralists, 
reposed.  The  departing  Emperor  stands  no  longer  in  a  trans- 
parency robed  in  shining  garments.  His  transfiguration  is  at 
an  end.  Every  action,  almost  every  moment  of  his  retirement, 
accurately  chronicled  by  those  who  shared  his  solitude,  have 
been  placed  before  our  eyes,  in  the  most  felicitous  manner,  by 
able  and  brilliant  writers.*  The  Emperor,  shorn  of  the  phil- 
osophical robe  in  which  he  had  been  conventionally  arrayed  for 
three  centuries,  shivers  now  in  the  cold  air  of  reality. 

So  far  from  his  having  immersed  himself  in  profound  and 
pious  contemplation,  below  the  current  of  the  world's  events, 
his  thoughts,  on  the  contrary,  never  were  for  a  moment  di- 
verted from  the  political  surface  of  the  times.  He  read  nothing 
but  despatches  ;  he  wrote  or  dictated  interminable  ones  in 
reply,  as  dull  and  prolix  as  any  which  ever  came  from  his  pen. 
He  manifested  a  succession  of  emotions  at  the  course  of  con- 
temporary affairs,  as  intense  and  as  varied,  as  if  the  world  still 
rested  in  his  palm.  He  was,  in  truth,  essentially  a  man  of 
action.  He  had  neither  the  taste  nor  talents  which  make  a 
man  great  in  retirement.  Not  a  lofty  thought,  not  a  generous 
sentiment,  not  a  profound  or  acute  suggestion  in  his  retreat 
has   been   recorded   from  his  lips.     The  epigrams  winch  had 


*  Stirling.  The  Cloister  Life  of  Charles  V.  (London,  1853).  Bakhuyzen  van 
den  Brink.  Analyse  d'un  Manuscrit  Contemporain  sur  la  Retraite  de  Charles 
Quint  (Bruxelles,  1850).  The  Works  of  Mignet  and  Pichot,  on  the  same  subject 
(Paris,  1854),  and  particularly  the  late  publication  of  M.  Gachard,  Retraite  et 
Hort  de  Charles  Quint  (Bruxelles,  1854) ;  in  which  last  work  the  subject  may  bo 
considered  to  have  been  fairly  exhausted,  and  in  which  the  text  of  Siguenca, 
and  of  the  anonymous  manuscript  discovered  by  M.  Bakhuyzen,  in  the  greffe 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals  at  Brussels,  arc  placed  in  full  before  the  reader,  so  far 
as  they  bear  on  the  vexed  question  as  to  the  celebration  by  the  Emperor  of 
his  own  obsequies. 


132  THEORISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

been  invented  for  liim  by  fabulists,  have  been  all  taken  away, 
and  nothing  has  been  substituted,  save  a  few  dull  jests  ex- 
changed with  stupid  friars.  So  far  from  having  entertained  and 
even  expressed  that  sentiment  of  religious  toleration  for  which 
he  was  said  to  have  been  condemned  as  a  heretic  by  the  inqui- 
sition, and  for  which  Philip  was  ridiculously  reported  to  have 
ordered  Ins  father's  body  to  be  burned,  and  his  ashes  scattered 
to  the  winds,*  he  became  in  retreat  the  bigot  effectually, 
which  during  his  reign  he  had  only  been  conventionally. 
Bitter  regrets  that  he  should  have  kept  his  word  to  Luther,  as 
if  he  had  not  broken  faith  enough  to  reflect  upon  in  his  re^ 
tirement ;  stern  self-reproach  for  omitting  to  put  to  death, 
while  he  had  him  in  his  power,  the  man  who  had  caused  all 
the  mischief  of  the  age  ;  fierce  instructions  thundered  from  his 
retreat  to  the  inquisitors  to  hasten  the  execution  of  all  heretics, 
— including  particularly  his  ancient  friends,  preachers  and  al- 
moners, Cazalla  and  Constantine  de  Fuente  ;  furious  exhorta- 
tions to  Philip— as  if  Philip  needed  a  prompter  in  such  a  work — 
that  he  should  set  himself  to  "  cutting  out  the  root  of  heresy 
with  rigor  and  rude  chastisement  ;" — such  explosions  of  savage 
bigotry  as  these,  alternating  with  exhibitions  of  revolting  glut- 
tony, with  surfeits  of  sardine  omelettes,  Estramadura  sausages, 
eel  pies,  pickled  partridges,  fat  capons,  quince  syrups,  iced  beer, 
and  flagons  of  Rhenish,  relieved  by  copious  draughts  of  senna 
and  rhubarb,  to  which  his  horror-stricken  doctor  doomed  him 
as  he  ate — compose  a  spectacle  less  attractive  to  the  imagina- 
tion than  the  ancient  portrait  of  the  cloistered  Charles.  Un- 
fortunately it  is  the  one  which  was  painted  from  life. 


*  Brantome.     (Euvres  Completes  (Paris,  1822),  i.  32. 


CHAPTER   II. 


Sketch  of  Philip  the  Second — Characteristics  of  Mary  Tudor — Portrait  of 
Philip — His  council — Rivalry  of  Ruy  Gomez  and  Alva — Character  of 
Ruy  Gomez — Queen  Mary  of  Hungary — Sketch  of  Philibert  of  Savoy — 
Truce  of  Vaucelles — Secret  treaty  between  the  Pope  and  Henry  II. — 
Rejoicings  in  the  Netherlands  on  account  of  the  Peace — Purposes  of 
Philip — Re-enactment  of  the  edict  of  1550 — The  King's  dissimulation — 
"Request"  to  the  provinces — Infraction  of  the  truce  in  Italy — Character  of 
Pope  Paul  TV. — Intrigues  of  Cardinal  Caraffa — War  against  Spain  resolved 
upon  by  France — Campaign  in  Italy — Amicable  siege  of  Rome — Peace 
with  the  pontiff — Hostilities  on  the  Flemish  border — Coligny  foiled  at 
Douay — Sacks  Lens — Philip  in  England — Queen  Mary  engages  in  the  war 
— Philip's  army  assembled  at  Givet — Portrait  of  Count  Egmont — The 
French  army  under  Coligny  and  Montmorency — Siege  of  St.  Quentin — 
Attempts  of  the  constable  to  relieve  the  city — Battle  of  St.  Quentin — Hesi- 
tation and  timidity  of  Philip — City  of  St.  Quentin  taken  and  sacked — 
Continued  indecision  of  Philip — His  army  disbanded — Campaign  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise — Capture  of  Calais — Interview  between  Cardinal  de  Lor- 
raine and  the  Bishop  of  Arras — Secret  combinations  for  a  league  between 
France  and  Spain  against  heresy — Languid  movements  of  Guise — Foray 
of  De  Thermes  on  the  Flemish  frontier — Battle  of  Gravelines — Popularity 
of  Egmont — Enmity  of  Alva. 

Philip  the  Second  had  received  the  investiture  of  Milan  and  the 
crown  of  Naples,  previously  to  his  marriage  with  Mary  Tudor.* 
The  imperial  crown  he  had  been  obliged,  much  against  his  will, 
to  forego.  The  archduchy  of  Austria,  with  the  hereditary 
German  dependencies  of  his  father's  family,  had  been  trans- 
ferred by  the  Emperor  to  his  brother  Ferdinand,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  of  that  prince  with  Anna,  only  sister  of  King 
Louis  of  Hungary,  f  Ten  years  afterwards,  Ferdinand  (King 
of  Hungary  and  Bohemia  since  the  death  of  Louis,  slain  in 
1526  at  the  battle  of  Mohacz)  was  elected  King  of  the  Eomans, 


*  Pont.  Heut.  xix.     Godelaevus,  645.  f  Pont.  Heut.  viii.  197. 


134  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

and  steadily  refused  all  the  entreaties  afterwards  made  to  him 
in  behalf  of  Philip,  to  resign  his  crown  and  his  succession  to 
the  Empire,  in  favor  of  his  nephew.  With  these  diminutions, 
Philip  had  now  received  all  the  dominions  of  his  father.  He 
was  King  of  all  the  Spanish  kingdoms  and  of  both  the  Sicilies. 
He  was  titular  King  of  England,  France,  and  .Jerusalem.  He 
was  "  Absolute  Dominator"  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  America  ;  he 
was  Duke  of  Milan  and  of  both  Burgundies,  and  Hereditary 
Sovereign  of  the  seventeen  Netherlands.* 

Thus  the  provinces  had  received  a  new  master.  A  man  of 
foreign  birth  and  breeding,  not  speaking  a  word  of  their 
language,  nor  of  any  language  which  the  mass  of  the  inhabit- 
ants understood,  was  now  placed  in  supreme  authority  over 
them,  because  he  represented,  through  the  females,  the  "  good" 
Philip  of  Burgimdy,  who  a  century  before  had  possessed  him- 
self by  inheritance,  purchase,  force,  or  fraud,  of  the  sovereignty 
in  most  of  those  provinces.  It  is  necessary  to  say  an  intro- 
ductory word  or  two  concerning  the  previous  history  of  the 
man  to  whose  hands  the  destiny  of  so  many  millions  was  now 
entrusted. 

He  was  born  in  May,  1527,  and  was  now  therefore  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  had  been  united 
to  his  cousin,  Maria  of  Portugal,  daughter  of  John  III.  and 
of  the  Emperor's  sister,  Donna  Catalina.  In  the  following 
year  (1544)  he  became  father  of  the  celebrated  and  ill-starred 
Don  Carlos,  and  a  widower.f  The  princess  owed  her  death,  it 
was  said,  to  her  own  imprudence  and  to  the  negligence  or  bigotry 
of  her  attendants.  The  Duchess  of  Alva,  and  other  ladies 
who  had  charge  of  her  during  her  confinement,  deserted  her 
chamber  in  order  to  obtain  absolution  by  witnessing  an  auto- 
da-fe  of  heretics.  During  their  absence,  the  princess  partook 
voraciously  of  a  melon,  and  forfeited  her  life  in  consequence.^ 
In  1548,  Don  Philip  had  made  his  first  appearance  in  the 
Netherlands.      He   came   thither  to   receive   homage   in    the 


*  Pont.  Heut.  x.  240.  \  Cabrera,  i.  8. 

X  Meteren,  i.  f.  13. 


1555.]  philip's  youth.  135 

various  provinces  as  their  future  sovereign,  and  to  exchange 
oaths  of  mutual  fidelity  with  them  all.-'5  Andrew  Doria,  with 
a  fleet  of  fifty  ships,  had  brought  him  to  Genoa,  whence  he  had 
passed  to  Milan,  where  he  was  received  with  great  rejoicing. 
•  At  Trent  he  was  met  by  Duke  Maurice  of  Saxony,  who 
warmly  begged  his  intercession  with  the  Emperor  in  behalf  of 
the  imprisoned  Landgrave  of  Hesse.  This  boon  Philip  was 
graciously  pleased  to  promise,  f  and  to  keep  the  pledge  as 
sacredly  as  most  of  the  vows  plighted  by  him  during  this 
memorable  year.  The  Duke  of  Aerschot  met  him  in  Germany 
with  a  regiment  of  cavalry  and  escorted  him  to  Brussels.  A 
summer  was  spent  in  great  festivities,  the  cities  of  the  Nether- 
lands vieing  with  each  other  in  magnificent  celebrations  of 
the  ceremonies,  by  which  Philip  successively  swore  allegiance 
to  the  various  constitutions  and  charters  of  the  provinces,  and 
received  their  oaths  of  future  fealty  in  return.  His  oath  to 
support  all  the  constitutions  and  privileges  was  without  reserv- 
ation, while  his  father  and  grandfather  had  only  sworn  to 
maintain  the  charters  granted  or  confirmed  by  Philip  and 
Charles  of  Burgundy4  Suspicion  was  disarmed  by  these  in- 
discriminate concessions,  which  had  been  resolved  upon  by  the 
unscrupulous  Charles  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  peo- 
ple. In  view  of  the  pretensions  which  might  be  preferred 
by  the  Brederode  family  in  Holland,  and  by  other  descendants 


*  Meteren,  13.    Wagenaer    Vaderlandsche  Historie  (Amst,  1770),  iv.  294 sqq. 

■(•  Meteren,  i.  13. 

%  The  oath  which  he  took  in  Holland  was — "  Well  and  truly  to  maintain  all 
the  privileges  and  freedoms  of  the  nobles,  cities,  communities,  subjects  (lay  and 
clerical)  of  the  province  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland,  to  them  granted  by 
my  ancestors,  counts  and  countesses  of  Holland ;  and  moreover  their  customs, 
traditions,  usages,  and  rights  (gewoonte,  herkomen,  usantien  en  rechten),  all 
and  several  which  they  now  have  and  use."  The  oath  in  Brabant  was — "To 
support  all  the  privileges,"  etc.,  etc.;  and  the  same  form,  without  conditions 
and  exceptions,  was  adopted  in  the  other  provinces;  whereas  his  father  and 
grandfather  had  sworn  only  to  maintain  the  limited  privileges  conceded  by  the 
usurping  house  of  Burgundy. — Vide  Groot  Plakkaat  Boek,  iv.  3,  iii.  20;  Blyde 
Inkommst  v.  Filip,  apud  Mieris,  Nederl.  Voorst,  iii  222 ;  Wagenaer  VaderL  Hist. 
iv.  294-7,  and  v.  328-341. 


136  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

of  ancient  sovereign  races  in  other  provinces,  the  Emperor, 
wishing  to  ensure  the  succession  to  his  sisters  in  case  of  the 
deaths  of  himself,  Philip,  and  Don  Carlos  without  issue,  was 
unsparing  in  those  promises  which  he  knew  to  be  binding  only 
upon  the  weak.  Although  the  house  of  Burgundy  had 
usurped  many  of  the  provinces  on  the  express  pretext  that 
females  could  not  inherit,  the  rule  had  been  already  violated, 
and  he  determined  to  spare  no  pains  to  conciliate  the  estates, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  content  with  a  new  violation, 
should  the  contingency  occur.  Philip's  oaths  were  therefore 
without  reserve,  and  the  light-hearted  Flemings,  Brabantines, 
and  Walloons  received  him  with  open  arms.  In  Valenciennes 
the  festivities  which  attended  his  entrance  were  on  a  most 
gorgeous  scale,  but  the  "joyous  entrance"  arranged  for  him 
at  Antwerp  was  of  unparalleled  magnificence.*  A  cavalcade 
of  the  magistrates  and  notable  burghers,  "all  attired  in 
cramoisy  velvet/'  attended  by  lackies  in  splendid  liveries  and 
followed  by  four  thousand  citizen  soldiers  in  full  uniform,  went 
forth  from  the  gates  to  receive  him.  Twenty-eight  triumphal 
arches,  which  alone,  according  to  the  thrifty  chronicler,  had 
cost  26,800  Carolus  guldens,  were  erected  in  the  different 
streets  and  squares,  and  every  possible  demonstration  of  affec- 
tionate welcome  was  lavished  upon  the  Prince  and  the  Em- 
peror.f  The  rich  and  prosperous  city,  unconscious  of  the 
doom  which  awaited  it  in  the  future,  seemed  to  have  covered 
itself  with  garlands  to  honor  the  approach  of  its  master.  Yet 
icy  was  the  deportment  with  which  Philip  received  these  dem- 
onstrations of  affection,  and  haughty  the  glance  with  which 
he  looked  down  upon  these  exhibitions  of  civic  hilarity,  as  from 
the  height  of  a  grim  and  inaccessible  tower.  The  impression 
made  upon  the  Netherlander  was  any  thing  but  favorable,  and 
when  he  had  fully  experienced  the  futility  of  the  projects  on 
the  Empire  which  it  was  so  difficult  both  for  his  father 
and  himself  to  resign,  he  returned  to  the  more  congenial 
soil  of  Spain.     In  1554  he  had  again  issued  from  the  penin- 


*  Meteren,  i.  f.  13.  i  Ibid. 


1555.]  MARY    TUDOR.  137 

sula  to  marry  the  Queen  of  England,  a  privilege  which  his 
father  had  graciously  resigned  to  him.  He  was  united  to 
Mary  Tudor  at  Winchester,  on  the  25th  July  of  that  year,  and 
if  congeniality  of  tastes  could  have  made  a  marriage  happy, 
that  union  should  have  been  thrice  blessed.  To  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  Church  seemed  to  both  the  main  object 
of  existence,  to  execute  unbelievers  the  most  sacred  duty 
imposed  by  the  Deity  upon  anointed  princes,  to  convert  their 
kingdoms  into  a  hell  the  surest  means  of  winning  Heaven  for 
themselves.  It  was  not  strange  that  the  conjunction  of  two 
such  wonders  of  superstition  in  one  sphere  should  have  seemed 
portentous  in  the  eyes  of  the  English  nation.  Philip's  mock 
efforts  in  favor  of  certain  condemned  reformers,  and  his  pre- 
tended intercessions  in  favor  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  failed 
entirely  of  their  object.  The  parliament  refused  to  confer 
upon  him  more  than  a  nominal  authority  in  England.  His 
children,  should  they  be  born,  might  be  sovereigns  ;  he  was  but 
husband  of  the  Queen  ;  of  a  woman  who  could  not  atone  by 
her  abject  but  peevish  fondness  for  himself,  and  by  her  con- 
genial blood-thirstiness  towards  her  subjects,  for  her  eleven 
years'  seniority,  her  deficiency  in  attractions,  and  her  incapacity 
to  make  him  the  father  of  a  line  of  English  monarchs.  It 
almost  excites  compassion  even  for  Mary  Tudor,  when  her  pas- 
sionate efforts  to  inspire  him  with  affection  are  contrasted  with 
his  impassiveness.  Tyrant,  bigot,  murderess  though  she  was, 
she  was  still  woman,  and  she  lavished  upon  her  husband  all 
that  was  not  ferocious  in  her  nature.  Forbidding  prayers  to 
be  said  for  the  soul  of  her  father,*  hating  her  sister  and 
her  people,  burning  bishops,  bathing  herself  in  the  blood  of 
heretics,  to  Philip  she  was  all  submissiveness  and  feminine 
devotion.  It  was  a  most  singular  contrast,  Mary  the  Queen 
of  England  and  Mary  the  wife  of  Philip.  Small,  lean  and 
sickly,  painfully  near-sighted,  yet  with  an  eye  of  fierceness 
and  fire  ;  her  face  wrinkled  by  the  hands  of  care  and  evil 
passions  still  more  than  by  Time,  with  a   big  man's  voice. 


*  De  Thou,  ii.  419. 


138  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

whose  harshness  made  those  in  the  next  room  tremble  ;* 
yet  feminine  in  her  tastes,  skilful  with  her  needle,  fond  of 
embroidery  work,  striking  the  lute  with  a  touch  remark- 
able for  its  science  and  feeling,  speaking  many  languages, 
including  Latin,  with  fluency  and  grace  ;f  most  feminine, 
too,  in  her  constitutional  sufferings,  hysterical  of  habit,  shed- 
ding floods  of  tears  daily  at  Philip's  coldness,  undisguised  infi- 
delity, and  frequent  absences  from  England — she  almost  awakens 
compassion  and  causes  a  momentary  oblivion  of  her  identity. 

Her  subjects,  already  half  maddened  by  religious  perse- 
cution, were  exasperated  still  further  by  the  pecuniary 
burthens  which  she  imposed  upon  them  to  supply  the  King's 
exigencies,  and  she  unhesitatingly  confronted  their  frenzy,  in 
the  hope  of  winning  a  smile  from  him.  When  at  last  her 
chronic  maladies  had  assumed  the  memorable  form  which 
caused  Philip  and  Mary  to  imite  in  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Pole, 
announcing  not  the  expected  but  the  actual  birth  of  a  prince, 


*  "E  la  regina  Maria  di  statura  piccola — di  persona  magra  et  delicata — 
adesso  cavate  qualche  crespe  causate  piu.  dagli  affanni  eke  (Tall  eta — ha  gli  occhi 
vivi  eke  inducono  non  solo  riverenza  ma  timore  verso  cki  li  move,  se  bene  la 
vista  molto  corta  non  potendo  leggere  ne  far  altro  se  non  si  metto  con  la  vista 
vicinissima  a  quello  eke  voglia  leggere  o  ben  discernere — ha  la  voce  grossa  et 
alta  quassi  d'uomo,  si  eke  quando  parla  e  sempre  sentita  gran  pezzo  di 
lontano." — Relazione  di  Giov,  Mickele,  venuto  Ambr;  d'Inghilterra,  1557  ;  MS. 
The  envoy  sums  up  tke  personal  attractions  of  ker  Majesty  by  observing  tbat, 

" even  at  ker  present  age,  ske  is  not  entirely  to  be  abborred  for  ker  ugliness, 

without  any  regard  to  ker  rank  of  queen."  "In  somma  e  donna  konesta  ne 
mai  per  brutezza  eti3m  in  questa  eta  non  considerato  il  grado  di  regina  d'essire 
abkorrita." — As  tke  Venetian  was  exceedingly  disposed  to  be  complimentary,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  eulogy  does  not  appear  redundant.  Compare 
Cabrera — "  Era  la  Regna  pequefia  de  cuerpo,  flaca,  con  vista  corta  en  vivos 
ojos  que  ponian  acatamiento — grave — mesurada — la  voce  grucsa  mas  que  de 
muger:"  iv.  210. 

f  "  E  instrutta  di  cinque  lingue — quattro  d'essi  parla — Nella  latina  farria 
sempre  ognuno  con  le  risposte  che  da  et  con  i  proposite  che  tiene  intenden- 
tissima  oltre  l'esercitio  di  lavorare  d'ago  in  ogni  sorte  di  ricamo,  anco  della  musica 
■ — specialmente  sonar  di  manacordi  et  di  kuto — incanta  per  la  velocita  del  mano 
e  per  la  maniera  di  sonare." — Michele  MS. 

\  Michele.  Relazione  MS. — "  Per  rimedio  non  basta  indogli  los  fogarsi  come 
sdesso  usa  con  le  lagrime  et  col  piangere." 


1555.]  PHILIP  IN   ENGLAND.  139 

but  judiciously  leaving  the  date  in  blank,*  the  momentary  satis- 
faction and  delusion  of  the  Queen  was  unbounded.  The  false  in- 
telligence was  transmitted  every  where.  Great  were  the  joy  and 
the  festivities  in  the  Netherlands,  where  people  were  so  easily 
made  to  rejoice  and  keep  holiday  for  any  thing.  "  The  Regent, 
being  in  Antwerp,"  wrote  Sir  Thomas  Gresham  to  the  lords  of 
council,  "  did  cause  the  great  bell  to  ringe  to  give  all  men  to 
understand  that  the  news  was  trewe.  The  Queene's  highness' 
mere  merchants  caused  all  our  Inglishe  ships  to  shoote  off 
with  such  joy  and  triumph,  as  by  men's  arts  and  pollicey 
coulde  be  devised — and  the  Regent  sent  our  Inglishe  maroners 
one  hundred  crownes  to  drynke."f  If  bell-ringing  and  cannon- 
hrmg  could  have  given  England  a  Spanish  sovereign,  the 
devoutly-wished  consummation  would  have  been  reached. 
When  the  futility  of  the  royal  hopes  could  no  longer  be  con- 
cealed, Philip  left  the  country,  never  to  return  till  his  war 
with  France  made  him  require  troops,  subsidies,  and  a  declara- 
tion of  hostilities  from  England. 

The  personal  appearance  of  the  new  sovereign  has  already 
been  described.  His  manner  was  far  from  conciliatory,  and  in 
this  respect  he  was  the  absolute  reverse  of  his  father.  Upon 
his  first  journey  out  of  Spain,  in  1548,  into  his  various 
dominions,  he  had  made  a  most  painful  impression  every 
where.  "  He  was  disagreeable,"  says  Envoy  Suriano,  "  to  the 
Italians,  detestable  to  the  Flemings,  odious  to  the  Germans."^ 

The  remonstrances  of  the  Emperor,  and  of  Queen  Mary  of 
Hungary,  at  the  impropriety  of  his  manners,  had  produced, 
however,  some  effect,  so  that  on  his  wedding  journey  to 
England,  he  manifested  much  "  gentleness  and  humanity, 
mingled   with    royal    gravity."§       Upon   this    occasion,    says 


*  Burgon  (Life  and  Times  of  Sir  T.  Gresham)  communicates  the  letter  from  the 
State-paper  Office. — ""Whereas  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God  of  his  infinite  good- 
ness to  adde  'unto  the  great  number  of  other  his  benefices  bestowed  upon  us  the 
gladding  of  us  with  the  happy  deliverie  of  a  prince  :"  i.  171. 

\  Burgon,  i.  169. 

{  '"Fu  poco  grato  ad  Italiani,  ingratissimo  a  fiamenghi  et  a  Tedeschi  odioao." 
— Suriano.     Ptelazione  MS.  §  Suriano  MS. 


140  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

another  Venetian,  accredited  to  him,  "  he  had  divested  himself 
of  that  Spanish  haughtiness,  which,  when  he  first  came  from 
Spain,  had  rendered  him  so  odious."*  The  famous  am- 
bassador, Badovaro  confirms  the  impression.  "  Upon  his  first 
journey,"  he  says,  "  he  was  esteemed  proud,  and  too  greedy 
for  the  imperial  succession  ;  but  now  'tis  the  common  opinion 
that  his  humanity  and  modesty  are  all  which  could  be 
desired."f  These  humane  qualities,  however,  it  must  be 
observed,  were  exhibited  only  in  the  presence  of  ambassadors 
and  grandees,  the  only  representatives  of  "humanity"  with 
whom  he  came  publicly  and  avowedly  in  contact. 

He  was  thought  deficient  in  manly  energy.  He  was  an 
infirm  valetudinarian,  and  was  considered  as  sluggish  in 
character,  as  deficient  in  martial  enterprise,  as  timid  of  tem- 
perament as  he  was  fragile  and  sickly  of  frame.  J  It  is  true, 
that  on  account  of  the  disappointment  which  he  occasioned  by 
his  contrast  to  his  warlike  father,  he  mingled  in  some  tourna- 
ments in  Brussels,  where  he  was  matched  against  Count  Mans- 
feld,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  chieftains  of  the  age,  and 
where,  says  his  professed  panegyrist,  "  he  broke  his  lances  very 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  father  and  aunts."§ 

That  learned  and  eloquent  author,  Estelle  Calvete,  even 
filled  the  greater  part  of  a  volume,  in  which  he  described  the 


*  "  Havendo  persa  quella  altezza — con  la  quale  usci  la  prima  volta  di  Spagna 
et  riusci  cosi  odiosi." — Michele  MS. 

f  "Nel  p-  passagio  suo  in  Spagna  per  Italia,  Germania  et  Fiandra  era 
stimata  superba  et  troppo  cupida  d'essere  coadjutore  dell'  Imperio  ma  hora  e 
comune  opinione  che  ella  habbia  in  so  tutta  quelle  humanita  et  modestia  che  dir 
si  possa." — Badovaro  MS. 

\  "  Si  come  la  natura  l'ha  fatta  di  corpo  debole  cosi  l'ha  fatta  al  quanto 
d'animo  timido." — Badovaro  MS.  "  Non  promette  quella  grandezza  et  generalita 
d'animo  et  vivezza  di  spirito  che  si  convenga  ad  un  principe  potente  come  lui — . 
e  infermo  e  valetudinario— da  natura  abhorrisce  molto  la  guerra,  et  andare  en 
persona  ne  mai  egli  vi  si  ridurra  se  non  per  gran  neccssita." — Michele  MS.  "  La 
natura  la  qual  inclina  piu  alia  quiete  ch'  all'  essercitio  piu  al  riposo  ch'  al  tra- 
vaglio,"  etc. — Suriano  MS. 

§  "  Arrojo  los  trocos  muy  en  alto  eon  vozeria  del  pueblo,  regocijo  del  Empe- 
rador  e  de  las  Reynas — rompiendo  sus  lanzas  con  gallardia  i  destreza,  agrada- 
dot  de  su  valor  y  majestad  estavan  co  razon  su padre  y  Has." — Cabrera  i.  12. 


1555.]  CONSTITUTIONAL   DULLNESS.  141 

journey  of  the  Prince,  with  a  minute  description  of  these 
feasts  and  jousts,*  but  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  to  the 
loyal  imagination  of  his  eulogist  Philip  is  indebted  for  most 
of  these  knightly  trophies.  It  was  the  universal  opinion 
of  unprejudiced  cotemporaries,  that  he  was  without  a  spark 
of  enterprise.  He  was  even  censured  for  a  culpable  want 
of  ambition,  and  for  being  inferior  to  his  father  in  this 
respect,  as  if  the  love  of  encroaching  on  his  neighbor's 
dominions,  and  a  disposition  to  foreign  commotions  and  wax 
would  have  constituted  additional  virtues,  had  he  happened  to 
possess  them.  Those  who  were  most  disposed  to  think  favor- 
ably of  him,  remembered  that  there  was  a  time  when  even 
Charles  the  Fifth  was  thought  weak  and  indolent,  f  and  were 
willing  to  ascribe  Philip's  pacific  disposition  to  his  habitual 
cholic  and  side-ache,  and  to  his  father's  inordinate  care  for  him 
in  youth.t  They  even  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  he 
should  blaze  forth  to  the  world  as  a  conqueror  and  a  hero. 
These,  however,  were  views  entertained  by  but  few ;  the  general 
and  the  correct  opinion,  as  it  proved,  being,  that  Philip  hated 
war,  would  never  certainly  acquire  any  personal  distinction  in 
the  field,  and  when  engaged  in  hostilities  would  be  apt  to 
gather  his  laurels  at  the  hands  of  his  generals,  rather  than 
with  his  own  sword.  He  was  believed  to  be  the  reverse  of  the 
Emperor.  Charles  sought  great  enterprises  ;  Philip  would 
avoid  them.  The  Emperor  never  recoiled  before  threats  ;  the 
son  was  reserved,  cautious,  suspicious  of  all  men,  and  capable 
of  sacrificing  a  realm  from  hesitation  and  timidity.  The  father 
had  a  genius  for  action,  the  son  a  predilection  for  repose. 
Charles  took  "  all  men's  opinions,  but  reserved  his  judgment," 
and  acted  on  it,  when  matured,  with  irresistible  energy  ; 
Philip  was  led  by  others,  was  vacillating  in  forming  decisions, 
and  irresolute  in  executing  them  when  formed.§ 

Philip,  then,  was   not   considered,  in   that   warlike  age,   as 


*  Y.  Cabrera,  i.  12,  13. 

f  "  Era  havuto  per  sapido  et  adormentato." — Michele  MS 

%  Michele  MS.  §  Suriano  MS. 


142  THE   RISE   OP   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555 

likely  to  shine  as  a  warrior.  His  mental  capacity,  in  general, 
was  likewise  not  very  highly  esteemed.  His  talents  were,  in 
truth,  very  much  below  mediocrity.  His  mind  was  incredibly 
small.  A  petty  passion  for  contemptible  details  characterized 
him  from  his  youth,  and,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  could  neither 
learn  to  generalize,  nor  understand  that  one  man,  however 
diligent,  could  not  be  minutely  acquainted  with  all  the  public 
and  private  affairs  of  fifty  millions  of  other  men.  He  was  a 
glutton  of  work.  He  was  born  to  write  despatches,  and  to 
scrawl  comments*  upon  those  which  he  received.  He  often 
remained  at  the  council-board  four  or  five  hours  at  a  time,  and 
he  lived  in  his  cabinet.")"  He  gave  audiences  to: ambassadors 
and  deputies  very  willingly,  listening  attentively  to  all  that 
was  said  to  him,  and  answering  in  monosyllables.^  He  spoke 
no  tongue  but  Spanish,  and  was  sufficiently  sparing  of  that, 
but  he  was  indefatigable  with  his  pen.  He  hated  to  converse, 
but  he  could  write  a  letter  eighteen  pages  long,  when  his  cor- 
respondent was  in  the  next  room,  and  when  the  subject  was, 
perhaps,  one  which  a  man  of  talent  could  have  settled  with  six 
words  of  his  tongue.  The  world,  in  his  opinion,  was  to  move 
upon  protocols  and  apostilles.  Events  had  no  right  to  be  born 
throughout  his  dominions,  without  a  preparatory  course  of  his 
obstetrical  pedantry.      He  could   never  learn  that  the   earth 


*  The  character  of  these  apostilles,  always  confused,  wordy  and  awkward,  was 
sometimes  very  ludicrous ;  nor  did  it  improve  after  his  thirty  or  forty  years'  daily 
practice  in  making  them.  Thus,  when  he  received  a  letter  from  Prance  in  1589, 
narrating  the  assassination  of  Henry  III.,  and  stating  that  "the  manner  in  which 
he  had  been  killed  was  that  a  Jacobin  monk  had  given  him  a  pistol-shot  in  the 
head"  (la  facon  que  Ton  dit  qu'il  a  ette  tue,  sa  ettc  par  un  Jacobin  qui  luy  a  donne 
d'un  cou  de  pistolle  dans  la  tayte),  he  scrawled  the  following  luminous  comment 
upon  the  margin.  Underlining  the  word  "  pistolle,"  he  observed,  "  this  is  perhaps 
some  kind  of  knife;  and  as  for  '  tayte,'  it  can  be  nothing  else  but  head,  which 
is  not  tayte,  but  tete,  or  teyte,  as  you  very  well  know"  (quiza  de  alguna  manera 
de  cuchillo,  etc.,  etc.) — Gachard.  Rapport  a  M.  le  Minist.  de  l'lnterieur,  prefixed 
to  corresp.  Philippe  II.  Vol.  I.  xlix.  note  1.  It  is  obvious  that  a  person  who 
made  such  wonderful  commentaries  as  this,  and  was  hard  at  work  eight  or  nine 
hours  a  day  for  forty  years,  would  leave  a  prodigious  quantity  of  ttnpublished 
matter  at  his  death* 

f  Michele  MS.  X  Badovaro  MS. 


1555.]  OTHER    CHARACTERISTICS.  143 

would  not  rest  on  its  axis,  while  he  wrote  a  programme  of  the 
way  it  was  to  turn.*  He  was  slow  in  deciding,  slower  in 
communicating  his  decisions.  He  was  prolix  with  Iris  pen, 
not  from  affluence,  but  from  paucity  of  ideas.  He  took 
refuge  in  a  cloud  of  words,  sometimes  to  conceal  his  meaning, 
oftener  to  conceal  the  absence  of  any  meaning,  thus  mystifying 
not  only  others  but  himself.  To  one  great  purpose,  formed 
early,  he  adhered  inflexibly.  This,  however,  was  rather  an 
instinct  than  an  opinion  ;  born  with  him,  not  created  by  him. 
The  idea  seemed  to  express  itself  through  him,  and  to  master 
him,  rather  than  to  form  one  of  a  stock  of  sentiments  which  a 
free  agent  might  be  expected  to  possess.  Although  at  certain 
times,  even  this  master-feeling  could  yield  to  the  pressure  of  a 
predominant  self-interest — thus  showing  that  even  in  Philip 
bigotry  was  not  absolute — yet  he  appeared  on  the  whole  the 
embodiment  of  Spanish  chivalry  and  Spanish  religious  enthu- 
siasm, in  its  late  and  corrupted  form.  He  was  entirely  a 
Spaniard.  The  Burgundian  and  Austrian  elements  of  his 
blood  seemed  to  have  evaporated,  and  his  veins  were  filled 
alone  with  the  ancient  ardor,  which  in  heroic  centuries  had 
animated  the  Grothic  champions  of  Spain.  The  fierce  enthu- 
siasm for  the  Cross,  which  in  the  long  internal  warfare  against 
the  Crescent,  had  been  the  romantic  and  distinguishing  feature 
of  the  national  character,  had  degenerated  into  bigotry.  That 
which  had  been  a  nation's  glory  now  made  the  monarch's 
shame.  The  Christian  heretic  was  to  be  regarded  with  a  more 
intense  hatred  than  even  Moor  or  Jew  had  excited  in  the  most 
Christian  ages,  and  Philip  was  to  be  the  latest  and  most  perfect 
incarnation  of  all  this  traditional  enthusiasm,  this  perpetual 
hate.     Thus  he  was  likely  to  be  single-hearted  in  his  life.     It 


*  "  De  Koning,"  says  one  of  the  most  profound  and  learned  of  modern  histori- 
cal writers,  Bakhuysen  van  den  Brink,  "  Filipe  el  prudente,  zoo  als  hij  zich  gaarne 
hoorde  noemen,  beheerschte  niet  zijn  bureau,  maar  zijn  bureau  beherrschte  hem — 
Nooit  heeft  hij  begrepen,  dat  de  geschiedenis  niet  stil  stond,  om  op  zijne  beslissing 
te  wachten,  maar  altoos  meende  hij,  dat  de  gebeartenissen  haar  regt  om  te  gebeuren 
verkregen  door  zijue  hand  teekening  of  paraphe." — Het  Huwelijk  van  W.  Van 
Oranje  met  Anna  v  Saxen  (Amst.  1853),  p.  108. 


144  THE    RISE    OP    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

was  believed  that  his  ambition  would  be  less  to  extend  his 
dominions  than  to  vindicate  his  title  of  the  most  Catholic  king. 
There  could  be  little  doubt  entertained  that  he  would  be,  at 
least,  dutiful  to  his  father  in  this  respect,  and  that  the  edicts 
would  be  enforced  to  the  letter. 

He  was  by  birth,  education,  and  character,  a  Spaniard,  and 
that  so  exclusively,  that  the  circumstance  would  alone  have 
made  him  unfit  to  govern  a  country  so  totally  different  in 
habits  and  national  sentiments  from  his  native  land.  He  was 
more  a  foreigner  in  Brussels,  even,  than  in  England.  The 
gay,  babbling,  energetic,  noisy  life  of  Flanders  and  Brabant 
was  detestable  to  him.  The  loquacity  of  the  Netherlander 
was  a  continual  reproach  upon  his  taciturnity.  His  education 
had  imbued  him,  too,  with  the  antiquated  international  hatred 
of  Spaniard  and  Fleming,  which  had  been  strengthening  in 
the  metropolis,  while  the  more  rapid  current  of  life  had  rather 
tended  to  obliterate  the  sentiment  in  the  provinces. 

The  flippancy  and  profligacy  of  Philip  the  Handsome,  the 
extortion  and  insolence  of  his  Flemish  courtiers,  had  not  been 
forgotten  in  Spain,  nor  had  Philip  the  Second  forgiven  his 
grandfather  for  having  been  a  foreigner.  And  now  his  mad 
old  grandmother,  Joanna,  who  had  for  years  been  chasing  cats 
in  the  lonely  tower  where  she  had  been  so  long  imprisoned, 
had  just  died  ;':;:"  and  her  funeral,  celebrated  with  great  pomp 
by  both  her  sons,  by  Charles  at  Brussels  and  Ferdinand  at 
Augsburg,  seemed  to  revive  a  history  which  had  begun 
to  fade,  and  to  recal  the  image  of  Castilian  sovereignty 
which  had  been  so  long  obscured  in  the  blaze  of  imperial 
grandeur. 

His  education  had  been  but  meagre.  In  an  age  when  all 
kings  and  noblemen  possessed  many  languages,  he  spoke  not  a 
word  of  any  tongue  but  Spanish, f  although  he  had  a  slender 


*  De  Thou,  ii.  661. 

•j-  Michele  MS.      "  Nella   sua   lingua  parla  raramente  et  l'usa  sempre,"   saya 
Badovaro  concisely :   MS. 


1555.]  PERSONAL   HABITS.  145 

knowledge  of  French  and  Italian,  which  he  afterwards  learned 
to  read  with  comparative  facility.  He  had  studied  a  little 
history  and  geography,  and  he  had  a  taste  for  sculpture, 
painting,  and  architecture.*  Certainly  if  he  had  not  pos- 
sessed a  feeling  for  art,  he  would  have  been  a  monster.  To 
have  been  born  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
to  have  been  a  king,  to  have  had  Spain,  Italy,  and  the 
Netherlands  as  a  birthright,  and  not  to  have  been  inspired 
with  a  spark  of  that  fire  which  glowed  so  intensely  in  those 
favored  lands  and  in  that  golden  age,  had  indeed  been 
difficult. 

The  King's  personal  habits  were  regular.  His  delicate  health 
made  it  necessary  for  him  to  attend  to  his  diet,  although  he 
was  apt  to  exceed  in  sweetmeats  and  pastry.  He  slept  much, 
and  took  little  exercise  habitually,  but  he  had  recently  been 
urged  by  the  physicians  to  try  the  effect  of  the  chase  as  a  cor- 
rective to  his  sedentary  habits.f  He  was  most  strict  in  relig- 
ious observances,  as  regular  at  mass,  sermons,  and  vespers  as 
a  monk  ;  much  more,  it  was  thought  by  many  good  Catholics, 
than  was  becoming  to  his  rank  and  age.i:  Besides  several 
friars  who  preached  regularly  for  his  instruction,  he  had  daily 
discussions  with  others  on  abstruse  theological  points.§  He 
consulted  his  confessor  most  minutely  as  to  all  the  actions  of 
life,  inquiring  anxiously  whether  this  proceeding  or  that  were 
likely  to  burthen  his  conscience. [|  He  was  grossly  licentious. 
It  was  his  chief  amusement  to  issue  forth  at  night  disguised, 
that  he  misdit  indulge  in  vulgar  and  miscellaneous  incontinence 
in  the  common  haunts  of  vice.     This  was  his  solace  at  Brus- 


*  Badovaro  MS.  f  IWd- 

\  "  Attentissimo  alle  messi,  alii  vesperi  et  alle  prediche  com'  un  religiose-  molto 
piu  che  alio  stato  et  eta  sua  a  molti  pare  che  si  convenga." — Michele  MS. 

§  "  Oltre  certi  frati  theologi  predicanti  huomini  di  stimo,  anco  altri  che  ogni  di 
trattano  con  lui,"  etc. — Michele  MS. 

|  Michele  MS.  Badovaro  MS. — "  Dal  suo  confessore  vuole  intendere  se  il  far 
quella  et  questa  cosa  puo  aggravar  la  sua  conscienza,"  etc. 

VOL.    I.  10 


146  THE   KISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

sels  in  the  midst  of  the  gravest  affairs  of  state.*  He  was  not 
illiberal,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  thought  that  he  would 
have  been  even  generous,  had  he  not  been  straitened  for  money 
at  the  outset  of  his  career.  During  a  cold  winter,  he  distributed 
alms  to  the  poor  of  Brussels  with  an  open  hand.f  He  was  fond 
of  jests  in  private,  and  would  laugh  immoderately,  when  with 
a  few  intimate  associates,  at  buffooneries,  which  he  checked  in 
public  by  the  icy  gravity  of  his  deportment.^  He  dressed 
usually  in  the  Spanish  fashion,  with  close  doublet,  trunk  hose, 
and  short  cloak,  although  at  times  he  indulged  in  the  more 
airy  fashions  of  France  and  Burgundy,  wearing  buttons  on  his 
coats  and  feathers  in  his  hat.§  He  was  not  thought  at  that 
time  to  be  cruel  by  nature,  but  was  usually  spoken  of,  in  the 
conventional  language  appropriated  to  monarchs,  as  a  prince 
"  clement,  benign,  and  debonnaire."||  Time  was  to  show  the 
justice  of  his  claims  to  such  honorable  epithets. 

The  court  was  organized  during  his  residence  at  Brussels  on 
the  Burgundian,  not  the  Spanish  model, ^[  but  of  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  who  composed  it,  nine  tenths  of  the 
whole  were  Spaniards  ;  the  other  fifteen  or  sixteen  being  of 
various  nations,  Flemings,  Burgundians,  Italians,  English,  and 
Germans.**  Thus  it  is  obvious  how  soon  he  disregarded  his 
father's  precept  and  practiceff  in  this  respect,  and  began  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  that  renewed  hatred  to  Spaniards  which 
was  soon  to  become  so  intense,  exuberant,  and  fatal  through- 
out every  class  of  Netherlanders.  He  esteemed  no  nation  but 
the  Spanish,  with  Spaniards  he  consorted,  with  Spaniards  he 
counselled,  through  Spaniards  he  governed.^ 


*  "  Nelle  piaceri  delle  donne  e  incontinente,  prendendo  dilettationo  d'andare  in 
maschera  la  notte  et  nei  tempi  de  negotii  gravi,"  etc.,  etc. — Badovaro  MS. 

f  Badovaro  MS.  \  Ibid. 

§  Badovaro  MS.  Compare  Suriano  MS. — "  Et  veste  con  tanta  politezza  o  con 
tanto  giuditio  che  non  si  puo  veder  alcuna  cosa  piu  perfetta.'' 

I  Vide  e.  g.  Archives  et  Correspondance  de  la  M.  d'O.  ii.  447  (note  1),  443 
448,  487. 

•if  Badovaro  MS.  **  Ibid. 

ft  Apolog.  d'Orange,  47,  48.  \\  Suriano  MS, 


1555.]  THE   COUNCIL.  147 

His  council  consisted  of  five  or  six  Spanish  grandees,  the 
famous  Buy  Gomez,  then  Count  of  Melito,  afterwards  Prince 
of  Eboli ;  the  Duke  of  Alva,  the  Count  de  Feria,  the  Duke  of 
Franca  Villa,  Don  Antonio  Toledo,  and  Don  Juan  Manrique 
de  Lara.  The  "  two  columns,"  said  Suriano,  "  which  sustain 
this  great  machine,  are  Ruy  Gomez  and  Alva,  and  from  their 
councils  depends  the  government  of  half  the  world. "*  The 
two  were  ever  bitterly  opposed  to  each  other.  Incessant  were 
their  bickerings,  intense  their  mutual  hate,  desperate  and  dif- 
ficult the  situation  of  any  man,  whether  foreigner  or  native, 
who  had  to  transact  business  with  the  government.  If  he  had 
secured  the  favor  of  Gomez,  he  had  already  earned  the  enmity 
of  Alva.  Was  he  protected  by  the  Duke,  he  was  sure  to  be 
cast  into  outer  darkness  by  the  favorite.f  Alva  represented 
the  war  party,  Ruy  Gomez  the  pacific  polity  more  congenial 
to  the  heart  of  Philip.  The  Bishop  of  Arras,  who  in  the 
opinion  of  the  envoys  was  worth  them  all  for  his  capacity  and 
his  experience,  was  then  entirely  in  the  background,  rarely 
entering  the  council  except  when  summoned  to  give  advice  in 
affairs  of  extraordinary  delicacy  or  gravity.  J  He  was,  however, 
to  reappear  most  signally  in  course  of  the  events  already  pre- 
paring. The  Duke  of  Alva,  also  to  play  so  tremendous  a 
part  in  the  yet  unborn  history  of  the  Netherlands,  was  not 
beloved  by  Philip.§  He  was  eclipsed  at  this  period  by  the 
superior  influence  of  the  favorite,  and  his  sword,  moreover,  be- 
came necessary  in  the  Italian  campaign  which  was  impending. 
It  is  remarkable  that  it  was  a  common  opinion  even  at  that 
day  that  the  duke  was  naturally  hesitating  and  timid.  [|     One 


*  " Queste  sono  le  colonne  con  che  si  sustenta  questa  gran'  macchina,  et 

dal  consiglio  di  questo  dipendo  il  governo  di  mezzo  l'mondo,"  etc. — Suriano  MS. 

\  Suriano  MS. 

%  "Ma  non  val  tanto  alcun  degli  altri  ne  tutti  insieme  quanto  Monr.  d' Arras 
solo." — Suriano  MS. 

§  Suriano  MS.       Badovaro  MS. — "  II  re  intrinsecamente  non  amava  il  Duca," 
— Badovaro. 

"  Nella  guerra,"  says  Badovaro,  "  mostra  timidita  et  poca  iutelligenza," 

"  e  di  puochissimo  cuore.'' — MS.     " troppo  reservato  et  cauto  et  quasi  timido 

nell  imprese,"  says  Suriano,  MS. 


148  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

would  have  thought  that  his  previous  victories  might  have 
earned  for  him  the  reputation  for  courage  and  skill  which  he 
most  unquestionably  deserved.  The  future  was  to  develop 
those  other  characteristics  which  were  to  make  his  name  the 
terror  and  wonder  of  the  world. 

The  favorite,  Kuy  Gomez  da  Silva,  Count  de  Melito,  was 
the  man  upon  whose  shoulders  the  great  burthen  of  the  state 
reposed.  He  was  of  a  family  which  was  originally  Portuguese, 
He  had  been  brought  up  with  the  King,  although  some  eight 
years  his  senior,  and  their  friendship  dated  from  earliest  youth. 
It  was  said  that  Kuy  Gomez,  when  a  boy,  had  been  condemned 
to  death  for  having  struck  Philip,  who  had  come  between  him 
and  another  page  with  whom  he  was  quarrelling.*  The  Prince 
threw  himself  passionately  at  his  father's  feet,  and  implored 
forgiveness  in  behalf  of  the  culprit  with  such  energy  that  the 
Emperor  was  graciously  pleased  to  spare  the  life  of  the  future 
prime  minister.f  The  incident  was  said  to  have  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  remarkable  affection  which  was  supposed 
to  exist  between  the  two,  to  an  extent  never  witnessed  be- 
fore between  king  and  subject.  Kuy  Gomez  was  famous 
for  his  tact  and  complacency,  and  omitted  no  opportunity  of 
cementing  the  friendship  thus  auspiciously  commenced.  He 
was  said  to  have  particularly  charmed  his  master,  upon  one 
occasion,  by  hypocritically  throwing  up  his  cards  at  a  game  of 
hazard  played  for  a  large  stake,  and  permitting  him  to  win 
the  game  with  a  far  inferior  hand.!  ^ne  King  learning  after- 
wards the  true  state  of  the  case,  was  charmed  by  the  grace  and 
self-denial  manifested  by  the  young  nobleman.  The  compla- 
cency which  the  favorite  subsequently  exhibited  in  regard  to 
the  connexion  which  existed  so  long  and  so  publicly  between 
his  wife,  the  celebrated  Princess  Eboli,  and  Philip,  placed  his 
power  upon  an  impregnable  basis,  and  secured  it  till  his 
death. 

At  the  present  moment  he  occupied  the  three  posts  of  valet, 


*  Badovaro  MS.  f  Ibid  f  Brantome ;  art.  Philippe  IL 


1555.]  BUY   GOMEZ.  140 

state  councillor,  and  finance  minister.0  He  dressed  and  un- 
dressed his  master,  read  or  talked  him  to  sleep,  called  him  in 
the  morning,  admitted  those  who  were  to  have  private  audiences, 
and  superintended  all  the  arrangements  of  the  household."]" 
The  rest  of  the  day  was  devoted  to  the  enormous  corre- 
spondence and  affairs  of  administration  which  devolved  upon 
him  as  first  minister  of  state  and  treasury.  He  was  very 
ignorant.  He  had  no  experience  or  acquirement  in  the  arts 
either  of  war  or  peace,  and  his  early  education  had  been 
limited4  Like  his  master,  he  spoke  no  tongue  but  Spanish, 
and  he  had  no  literature.  He  had  prepossessing  manners,  a 
fluent  tongue,  a  winning  and  benevolent  disposition.  His 
natural  capacity  for  affairs  was  considerable,  and  his  tact  was 
so  perfect  that  he  could  converse  face  to  face  with  statesmen, 
doctors,  and  generals  upon  campaigns,  theology,  or  juris- 
prudence, without  betraying  any  remarkable  deficiency.  He 
was  very  industrious,  endeavoring  to  make  up  by  hard  study  for 
his  lack  of  general  knowledge,  and  to  sustain  with  credit  the 
burthen  of  his  daily  functions.  At  the  same  time,  by  the 
King's  desire,  he  appeared  constantly  at  the  frequent  banquets, 
masquerades,  tourneys  and  festivities,  for  which  Brussels  at 
that  epoch  was  remarkable.  It  was  no  wonder  that  his  cheek 
was  pale,  and  that  he  seemed  dying  of  overwork.  He  dis- 
charged his  duties  cheerfully,  however,  for  in  the  service  of 
Philip  he  knew  no  rest.  "  After  God,"  said  Badovaro,  "  he  knows 
no  object  save  the  felicity  of  his  master."§  He  was  already, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  very  rich,  having  been  endowed  by  Philip 
with  property  to  the  amount  of  twenty-six  thousand  dollars 
yearly,  and  the  tide  of  his  fortunes  was  still  at  the  flood. [| 
Such  were   the  two  men,  the  master  and  the  favorite,  to 


*  " ha  tre  carichi  del  somigliar  di  corpo,  del  consiglier  di  stato  et  di  con- 

tatore  maggiore." — Badovaro  MS. 

f  "Ha  cura  di  vest  ire  e  spoliare  sua  M'»  di  dormir  nella  sua  camera,  di  sopra- 
vedere  alle  cose  di  camera — et  introduttione  delle  persone,"  etc. — Badovaro  MS. 

%  Badovaro  MS. 

§  "  Perche  dopo  Iddio  non  ha  altro  oggetto  che  la  felicita  sua." 

J  Badovaro  MS.     Suriano  MS. 


150  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555 

whose  nands  the  destinies  of  the  Netherlands  were  now  en- 
trusted. 

The  Queen  of  Hungary  had  resigned  the  office  of  Regent 
of  the  Netherlands,  as  has  been  seen,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Emperor's  abdication.  She  was  a  woman  of  masculine  char- 
acter, a  great  huntress  before  the  Lord,  a  celebrated  horse- 
woman, a  worthy  descendant  of  the  Lady  Mary  of  Burgundy. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  fine  phrases  exchanged  between  her- 
self and  the  eloquent  Maas,  at  the  great  ceremony  of  the 
25th  of  October,  she  was,  in  reality,  much  detested  in  the 
provinces,*  and  she  repaid  their  aversion  with  abhorrence.  "  I 
could  not  live  among  these  people,"  she  wrote  to  the  Emperor, 
but  a  few  weeks  before  the  abdication,  "  even  as  a  private  per- 
son, for  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  do  my  duty  towards 
God  and  my  prince.  As  to  governing  them,  I  take  God  to 
witness  that  the  task  is  so  abhorrent  to  me,  that  I  would 
rather  earn  my  daily  bread  by  labor  than  attempt  it."f  She 
added,  that  a  woman  of  fifty  years  of  age,  who  had  served 
during  twenty-five  of  them,  had  a  right  to  repose,  and  that 
she  was  moreover  "too  old  to  recommence  and  learn  her 
A,  B,  G."%  The  Emperor,  who  had  always  respected  her  for 
the  fidelity  with  which  she  had  carried  out  his  designs,  knew 
that  it  was  hopeless  to  oppose  her  retreat.  As  for  Philip,  he 
hated  his  aunt,  and  she  hated  him§ — although,  both  at  the 
epoch  of  the  abdication  and  subsequently,  he  was  desirous  that 
she  should  administer  the  government.  || 

The  new  Regent  was  to  be  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  This 
wandering  and  adventurous  potentate  had  attached  himself  to 
Philip's  fortunes,  and  had  been  received  by  the  King  with  as 
much  favor  as  he  had  ever  enjoyed  at  the  hands  of  the  Em- 


*  "  Regina  Maria — donna  di  Valore — ma  e  odiata  da  popoli." — Badovaro  MS. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat  du  Cardinal  Granvelle,  iv.  476. — "Et  peus  affirmer  a  V.  M. 
et  prendre  Dieu  en  temoing  que  les  gouverner  m'est  tant  aborrible  que  j'aynierois 
mieux  gaigner  ma  vie  que  de  m'y  mectre." 

%  Ibid. 

§  "  Et  il  Re  di  Spagna  odia  lei,  et  lei  lui." — Badovaro  MS. 

J  Gachard.  Retraite  et  Mort,  etc.  i.  ad.  xli.  341,  357,  417. 


1555.]  PHILIBERT    OF    SAVOY.  151 

peror.  Emanuel  Philibert  of  Savoy,  then  about  twenty-six  or 
seven  years  of  age,  was  the  son  of  the  late  unfortunate  duke, 
by  Donna  Beatrice  of  Portugal,  sister  of  the  Empress.  He 
was  the  nephew  of  Charles,  and  first  cousin  to  Philip.  The 
partiality  of  the  Emperor  for  his  mother  was  well  known,  but 
the  fidelity  with  which  the  family  had  followed  the  imperial 
cause  had  been  productive  of  nothing  but  disaster  to  the  duke. 
He  had  been  ruined  in  fortune,  stripped  of  all  his  dignities 
and  possessions.  His  son's  only  inheritance  was  his  sword. 
The  young  Prince  of  Piedmont,  as  he  was  commonly  called  in 
his  youth,  sought  the  camp  of  the  Emperor,  and  was  received 
with  distinguished  favor.  He  rose  rapidly  in  the  military 
service.  Acting  always  upon  his  favorite  motto,  "  Spoliatis 
arma  supersunt,"  he  had  determined,  if  possible,  to  carve  his 
way  to  glory,  to  wealth,  and  even  to  his  hereditary  estates,  by 
his  sword  alone.*  War  was  not  only  his  passion,  but  his 
trade.  Every  one  of  his  campaigns  was  a  speculation,  and  he 
had  long  derived  a  satisfactory  income  by  purchasing  distin- 
guished prisoners  of  war  at  a  low  price  from  the  soldiers  who 
had  captured  them,  and  were  ignorant  of  their  rank,  and  by 
ransoming  them  afterwards  at  an  immense  advance.-}*  This 
sort  of  traffic  in  men  was  frequent  in  that  age,  and  was 
considered  jDerfectly  honorable.  Marshal  Strozzi,  Count 
Mansfeld,  and  other  professional  soldiers,  derived  their  main 
income  from  the  system4  They  were  naturally  inclined, 
therefore,  to  look  impatiently  upon  a  state  of  peace  as  an  un- 
natural condition  of  affairs  which  cut  off  all  the  profits  of  their 
particular  branch  of  industry,  and  condemned  them  both  to 
idleness  and  poverty.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  had  become  one  of 
the  most  experienced  and  successful  commanders  of  the  age, 
and  an  especial  favorite  with  the  Emperor.  He  had  served  with 
Alva  in  the  campaigns  against  the  Protestants  of  Germany, 
and  in  other  important  fields.  War  being  his  element,  he 
considered  peace  as  undesirable,  although  he  could  recognize 


*  Brantome.     (Euvres,  i.  351,  sqq.  \  Ibid. 

%  De  Thou,  iii.  Liy.  six.  162,  sqq. 


152  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1555. 

its  existence.  A  truce  he  held,  however,  to  be  a  senseless 
parodox,  unworthy  of  the  slightest  regard.  An  armistice, 
such  as  was  concluded  on  the  February  following  the  abdica- 
tion, was,  in  his  opinion,  only  to  be  turned  to  account  by  deal- 
ing insidious  and  unsuspected  blows  at  the  enemy,  some  por- 
tion of  whose  population  might  repose  confidence  in  the 
plighted  faitli  of  monarchs  and  plenipotentiaries.  He  had  a 
show  of  reason  for  his  political  and  military  morality,  for  he 
only  chose  to  execute  the  evil  which  had  been  practised  upon 
himself.  His  father  had  been  beggared,  his  mother  had  died 
of  spite  and  despair,  he  had  himself  been  reduced  from  the 
rank  of  a  sovereign  to  that  of  a  mercenary  soldier,  by  spolia- 
tions made  in  time  of  truce.  He  was  reputed  a  man  of 
very  decided  abilities,  and  was  distinguished  for  headlong 
bravery.  His  rashness  and  personal  daring  were  thought  the 
only  drawbacks  to  his  high  character  as  a  commander.  He 
had  many  accomplishments.  He  spoke  Latin,  French,  Span- 
ish, and  Italian  with  equal  fluency,  was  celebrated  for  his 
attachment  to  the  fine  arts,  and  wrote  much  and  with  great 
elegance.*  Such  had  been  Philibert  of  Savoy,  the  pauper 
nephew  of  the  powerful  Emperor,  the  adventurous  and  vagrant 
cousin  of  the  lofty  Philip,  a  prince  without  a  people,  a  duke  with- 
out a  dukedom  ;  with  no  hope  but  in  warfare,  with  no  revenue 
but  rapine  ;  the  image,  in  person,  of  a  bold  and  manly  soldier, 
small,  but  graceful  and  athletic,  martial  in  bearing,  "  wearing 
his  sword  under  his  arm  like  a  corporal,"f  because  an  internal 
malady  made  a  belt  inconvenient,  and  ready  to  turn  to  swift 
account  eveiy  chance  which  a  new  series  of  campaigns  might 
open  to  him.  With  his  new  salary  as  governor,  his  pensions, 
and  the  remains  of  his  possessions  in  Nice  and  Piedmont,  he 
had  now  the  splendid  annual  income  of  one  hundred  thousand 
crowns,  and  was  sure  to  spend  it  all.| 


*  "  Parla  poco,  dice  corse  buone  et  e  accorte  et  sagace  molto,  tiene  chiusi  i 
suoi  pensieri  et  ha  fama  di  tener  cosi  quei  eke  li  sono  detti  segretanente." — Bade- 
varo  MS. 

{  Brantome,  L  358.  J  Badovaro  MS. 


1556.]  TRUCE   OF    VAUCELLES.  153 

It  had  been  the  desire  of  Charles  to  smooth  the  commence- 
ment of  Philip's  path.  He  had  for  this  purpose  made  a 
vigorous  effort  to  undo,  as  it  were,  the  whole  work  of  his 
reign,  to  suspend  the  operation  of  his  whole  political  system. 
The  Emperor  and  conqueror,  who  had  been  warring  all  his  life- 
time, had  attempted,  as  the  last  act  of  his  reign,  to  improvise 
a  peace.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  arrange  a  pacification  of 
Europe  as  dramatically  as  he  desired,  in  order  that  he  might 
gather  his  robes  about  him,  and  allow  the  curtain  to  fall  upon 
his  eventful  history  in  a  grand  hush  of  decorum  and  quiet. 
During  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1555,  hostilities  had  been 
virtually  suspended,  and  languid  negotiations  ensued.  For 
several  months  armies  confronted  each  other  without  engaging, 
and  diplomatists  fenced  among  themselves  without  any  palpa- 
ble result.  At  last  the  peace  commissioners,  who  had  been 
assembled  at  Vaucelles  since  the  beginning  of  the  year  1556, 
signed  a  treaty  of  truce  rather  than  of  peace,  upon  the  5th 
of  February.*  It  was  to  be  an  armistice  of  five  years,  both  by 
land  and  sea,  for  France,  Spain,  Flanders,  and  Italy,  through- 
out all  the  dominions  of  the  French  and  Spanish  monarchs. 
The  Pope  was  expressly  included  in  the  truce,  which  was 
signed  on  the  part  of  France  by  Admiral  Coligny  and  Se- 
bastian l'Aubespine  ;  on  that  of  Spain,  by  Count  de  Lalain, 
Philibert  de  Bruxelles,  Simon  Kenard,  and  Jean  Baptiste 
Sciceio,  a  jurisconsult  of  Cremona.f  During  the  previous 
month  of  December,  however,  the  Pope  had  concluded  with 
the  French  monarch  a  treaty,  by  which  this  solemn  armistice 
was  rendered  an  egregious  farce.  While  Henry's  plenipoten- 
tiaries had  been  plighting  their  faith  to  those  of  Philip,  it 
had  been  arranged  that  France  should  sustain,  by  subsidies  and 
armies,  the  scheme  upon  which  Paul  was  bent,  to  drive  the 
Spaniards  entirely  out  of  the  Italian  peninsula.  +  The  king 
was  to  aid  the  pontiff,  and,  in  return,  was  to  carve  thrones  for 
his   own   younger  children  out  of  the  confiscated  realms  of 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  14,  sqq.     Metercn,  i.  17.  f  Ibid.     Ibid. 

\  Do  Thou,  iii.  xvii.     Meteren,  i.  17,  sqq. 


154  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1556. 

Philip.  When  was  France  ever  slow  to  sweep  upon  Italy  with 
such  a  hope  ?  How  could  the  ever-giowing  rivalry  of  Valois 
and  Habsburg  fail  to  burst  into  a  general  conflagration,  while 
the  venerable  vicegerent  of  Christ  stood  thus  beside  them  with 
his  fan  in  his  hand  ? 

For  a  brief  breathing  space,  however,  the  news  of  the  pacifi- 
cation occasioned  much  joy  in  the  provinces.  They  rejoiced 
even  in  a  temporary  cessation  of  that  long  series  of  campaigns 
from  which,  they  could  certainly  derive  no  advantage,  and  in 
which  their  part  was  to  furnish  money,  soldiers,  and  battle- 
fields, without  prospect  of  benefit  from  any  victory,  however 
brilliant,  or  any  treaty,  however  elaborate.  Manufacturing, 
agricultural  and  commercial  provinces,  filled  to  the  full  with 
industrial  life,  could  not  but  be  injured  by  being  converted 
into  perpetual  camps.  All  was  joy  in  the  Netherlands,  while 
at  Antwerp,  the  great  commercial  metnypolis  of  the  provinces 
and  of  Europe,  the  rapture  was  unbounded.  Oxen  were 
roasted  whole  in  the  public  squares  ;  the  streets,  soon  to  be 
empurpled  with  the  best  blood  of  her  citizens,  ran  red  with 
wine  ;  a  hundred  triumphal  arches  adorned  the  pathway  of 
Philip  as  he  came  thither ;  and  a  profusion  of  flowers,  although 
it  was  February,  were  strewn  before  his  feet.*  Such  was  his 
greeting  in  the  light-hearted  city,  but  the  countenance  was 
more  than  usually  sullen  with  which  the  sovereign  received 
these  demonstrations  of  pleasure.  It  was  thought  by  many 
that  Philip  had  been  really  disappointed  in  the  conclusion  of 
the  armistice,  that  he  was  inspired  with  a  spark  of  that  martial 
ambition  for  which  his  panegyrists  gave  him  credit,  and  that 
knowing  full  well  the  improbability  of  a  long  suspension  of 
hostilities,  he  was  even  eager  for  the  chance  of  conquest  which 
their  resumption  would  afford  him.  The  secret  treaty  of  the 
Pope  was  of  course  not  so  secret  but  that  the  hollow  inten- 
tion of  the  contracting  jjarties  to  the  truce  of  Vaucelles  were 
thoroughly  suspected  ;  intentions  which  certainly  went  far  to 
justify  the  maxims  and  the  practice  of  the  new  governor- 
general  of  the  Netherlands  upon   the    subject   of  armistices. 

*  Meteren,  i.  17,  sqq. 


1556.]  ULTERIOR  PURPOSES.  155 

Philip,  understanding  his  position,  was  revolving  renewed 
military  projects  while  his  subjects  wrere  ringing  merry  bells 
and  lighting  bonfires  in  the  Netherlands.  These  schemes, 
which  were  to  be  carried  out  in  the  immediate  future,  caused, 
however,  a  temporary  delay  in  the  great  purpose  to  which  he 
was  to  devote  his  life. 

The  Emperor  had  always  desired  to  regard  the  Nether- 
lands as  a  whole,  and  he  hated  the  antiquated  charters 
and  obstinate  privileges  which  interfered  with  his  ideas 
of  symmetry.  Two  great  machines,  the  court  of  Mechlin 
and  the  inquisition,  would  effectually  simplify  and  assim- 
ilate all  these  irregular  and  heterogeneous  rights.  The 
civil  tribunal  was  to  annihilate  all  diversities  in  their  laws 
by  a  general  cassation  of  their  constitutions,  and  the  ecclesias- 
tical court  was  to  burn  out  all  differences  in  their  religious  faith. 
Between  two  such  millstones  it  was  thought  that  the  Nether- 
lands might  be  crushed  into  uniformity.  Philip  succeeded  to 
these  traditions.  The  father  had  never  sufficient  leisure  to 
carry  out  all  lus  schemes,  but  it  seemed  probable  that  the  son 
would  be  a  worthy  successor,  at  least  in  all  which  concerned 
the  religious  part  of  his  system.  One  of  the  earliest  measures 
of  his  reign  was  to  re-enact  the  dread  edict  of  1550.  This 
he  did  by  the  express  advice  of  the  Bishop  of  Arras  who  rep- 
resented to  him  the  expediency  of  making  use  of  the  popu- 
larity of  his  father's  name,  to  sustain  the  horrible  system 
resolved  upon.*  As  Charles  was  the  author  of  the  edict,  it 
could  be  always  argued  that  nothing  new  was  introduced  ;  that 
burning,  hanging,  and  drowning  for  religious  differences  con- 
stituted a  part  of  the  national  institutions  ;  that  they  had  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  the  wise  Emperor,  and  had  been  sus- 
tained by  the  sagacity  of  past  generations.  Nothing  could 
have  been  more  subtle,  as  the  event  proved,  than  this  advice. 
Innumerable  were  the  appeals  made  in  subsequent  years,  upon 
this  subject,  to  the  patriotism  and  the  conservative  sentiments 
of  the   Netherlanders.     Bepeatedly  they  were  summoned  to 


*  Papiers  d'Etat  du  Card.  Granvelle,  ix.  478,  479. 


156  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1556. 

maintain  the  inquisition,  on  the  ground  that  it  had  been  sub- 
mitted to  by  their  ancestors,  and  that  no  change  had  been 
made  by  Philip,  who  desired  only  to  maintain  church  and 
crown  in  the  authority  which  they  had  enjoyed  in  the  days  of 
his  father  "  of  very  laudable  memory." 

Nevertheless,  the  King's  military  plans  seemed  to  interfere 
for  the  moment  with  this  cherished  object.  He  seemed  to 
swerve,  at  starting,  from  pursuing  the  goal  which  he  was  only 
to  abandon  with  life.  The  edict  of  1550  was  re-enacted  and 
confirmed,  and  all  office-holders  were  commanded  faithfully  to 
enforce  it  upon  pain  of  immediate  dismissal.*  Nevertheless, 
it  was  not  vigorously  carried  into  effect  any  where.  It  was 
openly  resisted  in  Holland,  its  proclamation  was  flatly  refused 
in  Antwerp,  and  repudiated  throughout  Brabant.f  It  was 
strange  that  such  disobedience  should  be  tolerated,  but  the 
King  wanted  money.  He  was  willing  to  refrain  for  a  season 
from  exasperating  the  provinces  by  fresh  religious  persecution 
at  the  moment  when  he  was  endeavoring  to  extort  every  penny 
which  it  was  possible  to  wring  from  their  purses.  J 

The  joy,  therefore,  with  which  the  pacification  had  been 
hailed  by  the  people  was  far  from  an  agreeable  spectacle  to  the 
King.  The  provinces  would  expect  that  the  forces  which  had 
been  maintained  at  their  expense  during  the  war  would  be  dis- 
banded, whereas  he  had  no  intention  of  disbanding  them.  As 
the  truce  was  sure  to  be  temporary,  he  had  no  disposition  to 
diminish  his  available  resources  for  a  war  which  might  be 
renewed  at  any  moment.  To  maintain  the  existing  military 
establishment  in  the  Netherlands,  a  large  sum  of  money  was 
required,  for  the  pay  was  very  much  in  arrear.  The  king 
had  made  a  statement  to  the  provincial  estates  upon  this 
subject,  but  the  matter  was  kept  secret  during  the  negotia- 
tions with  France.  The  way  had  thus  been  paved  for  the 
"  Request"  or  "  Bede,"  which  he  now  made  to  the  estates 
assembled  at  Brussels,  in  the  spring  of  1556.  It  was  to  con- 
sist of  a  tax  of  one  per  cent,  (the  hundredth  penny)  upon  all 

*  Bor,  i.  12.  f  Ibid.  i.  15.  %  Ibid.  i.  15,  sqq. 


1556.]  paul  iv.  157 

real  estate,  and  of  two  per  cent,  upon  all  merchandise  ;  to  be 
collected  in  three  payments.  The  request,  in  so  far  as  the 
imposition  of  the  proposed  tax  was  concerned,  was  refused  by 
Flanders,  Brabant,  Holland,  and  all  the  other  important  prov- 
inces, but  as  usual,  a  moderate,  even  a  generous,  commuta- 
tion in  money  was  offered  by  the  estates.  This  was  finally 
accepted  by  Philip,  after  he  had  become  convinced  that  at 
this  moment,  when  he  was  contemplating  a  war  with  France, 
it  would  be  extremely  impolitic  to  insist  upon  the  tax.  The 
publication  of  the  truce  in  Italy  had  been  long  delayed,  and 
the  first  infractions  which  it  suffered  were  committed  in  that 
country.  The  arts  of  politicians,  the  schemes  of  individual 
ambition,  united  with  the  short-lived  military  ardor  of  Philip 
to  place  the  monarch  in  an  eminently  false  position,  that  of 
hostility  to  the  Pope.  As  was  unavoidable,  the  secret  treaty 
of  December  acted  as  an  immediate  dissolvent  to  the  truce  of 
February. 

Great  was  the  indignation  of  Paul  Caraffa,  when  that  truce 
was  first  communicated  to  him  by  the  Cardinal  de  Tournon,  on 
the  part  of  the  French  Government.*  Notwithstanding  the 
protestations  of  France  that  the  secret  league  was  still  bind- 
ing, the  pontiff  complained  that  he  was  likely  to  be  abandoned 
to  his  own  resources,  and  to  be  left  single-handed  to  contend 
with  the  vast  power  of  Spain. 

Pope  Paul  IV.,  of  the  house  of  Caraffa,  was,  in  position,  the 
well-known  counterpart  of  the  Emperor  Charles.  At  the 
very  moment  when  the  conqueror  and  autocrat  was  exchanging 
crown  for  cowl,  and  the  proudest  throne  of  the  universe  for  a 
cell,  this  aged  monk,  as  weary  of  scientific  and  religious  seclu- 
sion as  Charles  of  pomp  and  power,  had  abdicated  his  scho- 
lastic pre-eminence,  and  exchanged  his  rosary  for  the  keys 
and  sword.  A  pontifical  Faustus,  he  had  become  disgusted 
with  the  results  of  a  life  of  study  and  abnegation,  and  imme- 
diately upon  his  election  appeared  to  be  glowing  with 
mundane  passions,  and  inspired  by  the  fiercest  ambition  of  a 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  16.    Liv.  xvii.     Meteren.     Bor. 


158  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1556. 

warrior.  He  had  rushed  from  the  cloister  as  eagerly  as 
Charles  had  sought  it.  He  panted  for  the  tempests  of  the 
great  external  world  as  earnestly  as  the  conqueror  who  had  so 
long  ridden  upon  the  whirlwind  of  human  affairs  sighed  for  a 
haven  of  repose.*  None  of  his  predecessors  had  been  more 
despotic,  more  belligerent,  more  disposed  to  elevate  and 
strengthen  the  temporal  power  of  Rome.  In  the  inquisition 
he  saw  the  grand  machine  by  which  this  purpose  could  be 
accomplished,f  and  yet  found  himself  for  a  period  the  antag- 
onist of  Philip  !  The  single  circumstance  would  have  been 
sufficient,  had  other  proofs  been  wanting,  to  make  manifest 
that  the  part  which  he  had  chosen  to  play  was  above  his  genius. 
Had  his  capacity  been  at  all  commensurate  with  his  ambition, 
he  might  have  deeply  influenced  the  fate  of  the  world  ;  but  for- 
tunately no  wizard's  charm  came  to  the  aid  of  Paul  Caraffa, 
and  the  triple-crowned  monk  sat  upon  the  pontifical  throne,  a 
fierce,  peevish,  querulous,  and  quarrelsome  dotard  ;  the  prey 
and  the  tool  of  his  vigorous  enemies  and  his  intriguing- 
relations.  His  hatred  of  Spain  and  Spaniards  was  unbounded. 
He  raved  at  them  as  "heretics,  schismatics,  accursed  of  God, 
the  spawn  of  Jews  and  Moors,  the  very  dregs  of  the  earth/'J 
To  play  upon  such  insane  passions  was  not  difficult,  and  a 
skilful  artist  stood  ever  ready  to  strike  the  chords  thus 
vibrating  with  age  and  fury.  The  master  spirit  and  prin- 
cipal mischief-maker  of  the  papal  court  was  the  well-known 
Cardinal  Caraffa,  once  a  wild  and  dissulute  soldier,  nephew  to 
the  Pope.  He  inflamed  the  anger  of  the  pontiff  by  his  repre- 
sentations, that  the  rival  house  of  Colonna,  sustained  by  the 
Duke   of  Alva,  now   viceroy   of   Naples,  and  by  the   whole 


*  "  Qu'alors  et  en  ce  meme  temps  il  so  fit  d'estranges  metamorphoses  plus 
qu'il  ne  s'en  soit  dans  celles  d'Ovide.  Que  le  plus  grand  mondain  et  ambitieux 
guerrier  se  voua  et  se  rendit  religieux  et  le  Pape  Paul  IV.  Carafe,  qui  avoit 
este"  le  plus  austere  theatin,  devot  et  religieux,  se  rendit  ambitieux  mondain  et 
guerrier." — Brantome  ;  art.  Charles  Quint. 

f  De  Thou,  iii.  19. 

|  Heretici,  scismatici,  et  maladetti  di  Dio,  seme  de  Giudei  et  de  Marrani 
feccia  del  mondo." — Navagero,  Relazione,  MS.     Bib.  de  Bourg.  No.  6079. 


1556.]  INTRIGUES   OF   CARAFFA.  159 

Spanish  power,  thus  relieved  from  the  fear  of  French  hos- 
tilities, would  be  free  to  wreak  its  vengeance  upon  their 
family.*  It  was  determined  that  the  court  of  France  should 
be  held  by  the  secret  league.  Moreover,  the  Pope  had  been 
expressly  included  in  the  treaty  of  Vaucelles,  although  the 
troops  of  Spain  had  already  assumed  a  hostile  attitude  in  the 
south  of  Italy.  The  Cardinal  was  for  immediately  pro- 
ceeding to  Paris,  there  to  excite  the  sympathy  of  the  French 
monarch  for  the  situation  of  himself  and  his  uncle.  An 
immediate  rupture  between  France  and  Spain,  a  re-kindling  of 
the  war  flames  from  one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other,  were 
necessary  to  save  the  credit  and  the  interests  of  the  Caraffas. 
Cardinal  de  Tournon,  not  desirous  of  so  sudden  a  termination 
to  the  pacific  relations  between  his  country  and  Spain,  suc- 
ceeded in  detaining  him  a  little  longer  hi  Rome.f  Ho 
remained,  but  not  in  idleness.  The  restless  intriguer  had 
already  formed  close  relations  with  the  most  important  per- 
sonage in  France,  Diana  of  Poitiers.1;  This  venerable  cour- 
tesan, to  the  enjoyment  of  whose  charms  Henry  had  suc- 
ceeded, with  the  other  regal  possessions,  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  was  won  by  the  flatteries  of  the  wily  Caraffa,  and 
by  the  assiduities  of  the  Guise  family.  The  best  and  most 
sagacious  statesmen,  the  Constable,  and  the  Admiral,  were 
in  favor  of  peace,  for  they  knew  the  condition  of  the  king- 
dom. The  Duke  of  Guise  and  the  Cardinal  Lorraine  were 
for  a  rupture,  for  they  hoped  to  increase  their  family  influence 
by  war.  Coligny  had  signed  the  treaty  of  Vaucelles,  and 
wished  to  maintain  it,  but  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  party 
was  in  the  ascendant.  The  result  was  to  embroil  the  Catholic 
King  against  the  Pope  and  against  themselves.  The  queen 
was  as  favorably  inclined  as  the  mistress  to  listen  to  Caraffli, 
for  Catherine  de  Medici  was  desirous  that  her  cousin,  Marshal 
Strozzi,  should  have  honorable  and  profitable  employment  in 
some  fresh  Italian  campaigns. 

In  the  mean  time  an  accident  favored  the  designs  of  the  papal 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  19,  sqq.  f  Ibid.  %  De  Thou,  ubi  sup. 


160  THE   EISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1556, 

court.  An  open  quarrel  with  Spain  resulted  from  an  insig- 
nificant circumstance.  The  Spanish  ambassador  at  Rome  was 
in  the  habit  of  leaving  the  city  very  often,  at  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning,  upon  shooting  excursions,  and  had  long  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  ordering  the  gates  to  be  opened  for  him  at  his 
pleasure.  By  accident  or  design,  he  was  refused  permission 
upon  one  occasion  to  pass  through  the  gate  as  usual.  Un- 
willing to  lose  his  day's  sport,  and  enraged  at  what  he  consid- 
ered an  indignity,  his  excellency,  by  the  aid  of  his  attendants, 
attacked  and  beat  the  guard,  mastered  them,  made  his  way 
out  of  the  city,  and  pursued  his  morning's  amusement.*  The 
Pope  was  furious,  Caraifa  artfully  inflamed  his  anger.  The 
envoy  was  refused  an  audience,  which  he  desired,  for  the  sake 
of  offering  explanations,  and  the  train  being  thus  laid,  it  was 
thought  that  the  right  moment  had  arrived  for  applying  the 
firebrand.  The  Cardinal  went  to  Paris  post  haste.  In  his 
audience  of  the  King,  he  represented  that  his  Holinoss  had 
placed  implicit  reliance  upon  his  secret  treaty  with  his 
majesty,  that  the  recently  concluded  truce  with  Spain  left  the 
pontiff  at  the  mercy  of  the  Spaniard,  that  the  Duke  of  Alva 
had  already  drawn  the  sword,  that  the  Pope  had  long  since 
done  himself  the  pleasure  and  the  honor  of  appointing  the 
French  monarch  protector  of  the  papal  chair  in  general, 
and  of  the  Caraffa  family  in  particular,  and  that  the  moment 
had  arrived  for  claiming  the  benefit  of  that  protection.  He 
assured  him,  moreover,  as  by  full  papal  authority,  that  in 
respecting  the  recent  truce  with  Spain,  his  majesty  would 
violate  both  human  and  divine  law.  Eeason  and  justice 
required  him  to  defend  the  pontiff,  now  that  the  Spaniards 
were  about  to  profit  by  the  interval  of  truce  to  take  measures 
for  his  detriment.  Moreover,  as  the  Pope  was  included  in  the 
truce  of  Vaucelles,  he  could  not  be  abandoned  without  a  viola- 
tion of  that  treaty  itself,  f  The  arts  and  arguments  of  the 
Cardinal  proved  successful ;  the  war  was  resolved  upon  in 
favor  of  the   Pope4      The    Cardinal,  by  virtue   of  powers 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  Liv.  xvii.  19,  sqq.     \  De  Thou,  iii.  23-29.     \  Ibid.  Bor,  i.  15. 


1556.]  CAKAFFA  IN  PARIS.  161 

received  and  brought  with  him  from  his  holiness,  absolved 
the  King  from  all  obligation  to  keep  his  faith  with  Spain.  He 
also  gave  him  a  dispensation  from  the  duty  of  prefacing  hos- 
tilities by  a  declaration  of  war.  Strozzi  was  sent  at  once  into 
Italy,  with  some  hastily  collected  troops,  while  the  Duke  of 
Guise  waited  to  organize  a  regular  army. 

The  mischief  being  thus  fairly  afoot,  and  war  let  loose 
again  upon  Europe,  the  Cardinal  made  a  public  entry  into 
Paris,  as  legate  of  the  Pope.  The  populace  crowded  about  his 
mule,  as  he  rode  at  the  head  of  a  stately  procession  through 
the  streets.  All  were  anxious  to  receive  a  benediction  from 
the  holy  man  who  had  come  so  far  to  represent  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter,  and  to  enlist  the  efforts  of  all  true  believers  in 
his  cause.  He  appeared  to  answer  the  entreaties  of  the  super- 
stitious rabble  with  fervent  blessings,  while  the  friends  who 
were  nearest  him  were  aware  that  nothing  but  gibes  and 
sarcasms  were  falling  from  his  lips.  "  Let  us  fool  these  poor 
creatures  to  their  heart's  content,  since  they  will  be  fools," 
he  muttered  ;  smiling  the  while  upon  them  benignantly,  as 
became  his  holy  office.*  Such  were  the  materials  of  this  new 
combination  ;  such  was  the  fuel  with  which  this  new  blaze 
was  lighted  and  maintained.  Thus  were  the  great  powers 
of  the  earth — Spain,  France,  England,  and  the  Papacy — 
embroiled,  and  the  nations  embattled  against  each  other  for 
several  years.  The  preceding  pages  show  how  much  national 
interests,  or  principles,  were  concerned  in  the  struggle  thus 
commenced,  in  which  thousands  were  to  shed  their  life-blood, 
and  millions  to  be  reduced  from  peace  and  comfort  to  suffer 
all  the  misery  which  famine  and  rapine  can  inflict.  It 
would  no  doubt  have  increased  the  hilarity  of  Caraffa,  as  he 
made  his  triumphant  entry  into  Paris,  could  the  idea  have 
been  suggested  to  his  mind  that  the  sentiments,  or  the 
welfare  of  the  people  throughout  the  great  states  now 
involved  in  his  meshes,  could  have  any  possible  bearing  upon 
the  question  of  peace  or  war.     The  world  was  governed  by 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  29.  xviL 
VOL.    I.  11 


162  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1556. 

other  influences.  The  wiles  of  a  cardinal — the  arts  of  a 
concubine — the  snipe-shooting  of  an  ambassador — the  specu- 
lations of  a  soldier  of  fortune — the  ill  temper  of  a  monk — the 
mutual  venom  of  Italian  houses — above  all,  the  perpetual 
rivalry  of  the  two  great  historical  families  who  owned  the 
greater  part  of  Europe  between  them  as  their  private  prop- 
erty— such  were  the  wheels  on  which  rolled  the  destiny  of 
Christendom.  Compared  to  these,  what  were  great  moral 
and  political  ideas,  the  plans  of  statesmen,  the  hopes  of 
nations  ?  Time  was  soon  to  show.  Meanwhile,  government 
continued  to  be  administered  exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  the 
governors.  Meanwhile,  a  petty  war  for  paltry  motives  was  to 
precede  the  great  spectacle  which  was  to  prove  to  Europe  that 
principles  and  peoples  still  existed,  and  that  a  phlegmatic 
nation  of  merchants  and  manufacturers  could  defy  the  powers 
of  the  universe,  and  risk  all  their  blood  and  treasure,  gene- 
ration after  generation,  in  a  sacred  cause. 

It  does  not  belong  to  our  purpose  to  narrate  the  details  of 
the  campaign  in  Italy  ;  neither  is  this  war  of  politics  and 
chicane  of  any  great  interest  at  the  present  day.  To  the 
military  minds  of  their  age,  the  scientific  duel  which  now  took 
place  upon  a  large  scale,  between  two  such  celebrated  captains 
as  the  Dukes  of  Guise  and  Alva,  was  no  doubt  esteemed  the 
most  important  of  spectacles  ;  but  the  progress  of  mankind  in 
the  art  of  slaughter  has  stripped  so  antiquated  an  exhibition 
of  most  of  its  interest,  even  in  a  technical  point  of  view. 
Not  much  satisfaction  could  be  derived  from  watching  an  old- 
fashioned  game  of  war,  in  which  the  parties  sat  down  before 
each  other  so  tranquilly,  and  picked  up  piece  after  piece,  castle 
after  castle,  city  after  city,  with  such  scientific  deliberation  as 
to  make  it  evident  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commanders,  war 
was  the  only  serious  business  to  be  done  in  the  world  ;  that  it 
was  not  to  be  done  in  a  hurry,  nor  contrary  to  rule,  and  that 
when  a  general  had  a  good  job  upon  his  hands  he  ought  to 
know  his  profession  much  too  thoroughly,  to  hasten  through 
it  before  he  saw  his  way  clear  to  another.  From  the  point 
of  time,  at   the   close   of  the   year   1556,    when   that   well- 


1556.]  CAMPAIGN   IN   ITALY.  163 

trained  but  not  very  successful  soldier,  Strozzi,  crossed  the 
Alps,  down  to  the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  when  the 
Duke  of  Alva  made  his  peace  with  the  Pope,  there  was  hardly 
a  pitched  battle,  and  scarcely  an  event  of  striking  interest. 
Alva,  as  usual,  brought  his  dilatory  policy  to  bear  upon  his 
adversary  with  great  effect.  He  had  no  intention,  he  observed 
to  a  friend,  to  stake  the  whole  kingdom  of  Naples  against  a 
brocaded  coat  of  the  Duke  of  Guise.*  Moreover,  he  had  been 
sent  to  the  war,  as  Ruy  Gomez  informed  the  Venetian 
ambassador,  "  with  a  bridle  in  his  mouth."f  Philip,  sorely 
troubled  in  his  mind  at  finding  himself  in  so  strange  a 
position  as  this  hostile  attitude  to  the  Church,  had  earnestly 
interrogated  all  the  doctors  and  theologians  with  whom  he 
habitually  took  counsel,  whether  this  war  with  the  Pope  would 
not  work  a  forfeiture  of  his  title  of  the  Most  Catholic  King.;*; 
The  Bishop  of  Arras  and  the  favorite  both  disapproved  of 
the  war,  and  encouraged,  with  all  their  influence,  the  pacific 
inclinations  of  the  monarch.  §  The  doctors  were,  to  be  sure, 
of  opinion  that  Philip,  having  acted  in  Italy  only  in  self- 
defence,  and  for  the  protection  of  his  states,  ought  not  to  be 
anxious  as  to  his  continued  right  to  the  title  on  which  he 
valued  himself  so  highly. ||  Nevertheless,  such  ponderings 
and  misgivings  could  not  but  have  the  effect  of  hampering  the 
actions  of  Alva.  That  general  chafed  inwardly  at  what  he 
considered  his  own  contemptible  position.  At  the  same  time, 
he  enraged  the  Duke  of  Guise  still  more  deeply  by  the  forced 
calmness  of  his  proceedings.  Fortresses  were  reduced,  towns 
taken,  one  after  another,  with  the  most  provoking  deliberation, 


*  De  la  Roca.     Resultas  de  la  Vida  del  Duque  de  Alba,  p.  66. 

f  " et  come  mi  disso  il  Sr.  Ruy  Gomez  non  si  manchera  a  tal  fine  di 

usare  supplicationi  humili  a  S.  Santitd,  mandandogli  il  Duca  d'Alva  eolla 
coreggia  al  collo  per  pacificarla." — Badovaro  MS. 

%  Michele. — Relatione  MS. 

§  Badovaro  MS. — " non  fu   d'opinione   che   si  comincia  la   guerra  col 

pontefice,"  etc.,  etc. 

Compare  Suriano  MS. — " non  fu  mai  d'opinione  che  si  movesse  ia  guerra 

con  il  papa  per  non  metter  in  pericolo  le  cose  d'ltalia,"  etc. 

i  Michele  MS. 


164  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

while  his  distracted  adversary  in  vain  strove  to  defy,  or  to 
delude  him,  into  trying  the  chances  of  a  stricken  field.*  The 
battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  the  narrative  of  which  belongs  to  our 
subject,  and  will  soon  occupy  our  attention,  at  last  decided 
the  Italian  operations.  Egmont's  brilliant  triumph  in  Picardy 
rendered  a  victory  in  Italy  superfluous,  and  placed  in  Alva's 
hand  the  power  of  commanding  the  issue  of  his  own  cam- 
paign.f  The  Duke  of  Guise  was  recalled  to  defend  the  French 
frontier,  which  the  bravery  of  the  Flemish  hero  had  imperilled, 
and  the  Pope  was  left  to  make  the  best  peace  which  he  could. 
All  was  now  prosperous  and  smiling,  and  the  campaign  closed 
with  a  highly  original  and  entertaining  exhibition.  The  pon- 
tiff's puerile  ambition,  sustained  by  the  intrigues  of  his  nephew, 
had  involved  the  French  monarch  in  a  war  which  was  contrary 
to  his  interests  and  inclination.  Paul  now  found  his  ally  too 
sorely  beset  to  afford  him  that  protection  upon  which  he  had 
relied,  when  he  commenced,  in  his  dotage,  his  career  as  a 
warrior.  He  was,  therefore,  only  desirous  of  deserting  his 
friend,  and  of  relieving  himself  from  his  uncomfortable  pre- 
dicament, by  making  a  treaty  with  his  catholic  majesty  upon 
the  best  terms  which  he  could  obtain.  The  King  of  France, 
who  had  gone  to  war  only  for  the  sake  of  his  holiness,  was  to 
be  left  to  fight  his  own  battles,  while  the  Pope  was  to  make 
his  peace  with  all  the  world.  The  result  was  a  desirable  one 
for  Philip.  Alva  was  accordingly  instructed  to  afford  the  holy 
father  a  decorous  and  appropriate  opportunity  for  carrying  out 
his  wishes.  The  victorious  general  was  apprized  that  his 
master  desired  no  fruit  from  his  commanding  attitude  in 
Italy  and  the  victory  of  Saint  Quentin,  save  a  full  pardon 
from  the  Pope  for  maintaining  even  a  defensive  war  against 
hiru.J  An  amicable  siege  of  Rome  was  accordingly  com- 
menced, in  the  course  of  which  an  assault  or  "camiciata" 
on  the  holy  city,  was  arranged  for  the  night  of  the  26th 
August,  1557.     The  pontiff  agreed  to  be  taken  by  surpriseJ 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  119,  liv.  xviiL  \  De  Thou,  iii.  125. 

X  De  la  Roca.     Resultas,  etc.  p.  GS. 


1557.]  PEACE  WITH  THE  POPE.  165 

while  Alva,  through  what  was  to  appear  only  a  superabund- 
ance of  his  habitual  discretion,  was  to  draw  off  his  troops 
at  the  very  moment  when  the  victorious  assault  was  to  be 
made.'*  The  imminent  danger  to  the  holy  city  and  to  his 
own  sacred  person  thus  furnishing  the  pontiff  with  an  excuse 
for  abandoning  his  own  cause,  as  well  as  that  of  his  ally,  the 
Duke  of  Alva  was  allowed,  in  the  name  of  his  master  and 
himself,  to  make  submission  to  the  Church  and  his  peace 
with  Rome.f  The  Spanish  general,  with  secret  indignation 
and  disgust,  was  compelled  to  humor  the  vanity  of  a  peevish 
Ibut  imperious  old  man.  Negotiations  were  commenced,  and  so 
skilfully  had  the  Duke  played  his  game  during  the  spring  and 
summer,  that  when  he  was  admitted  to  kiss  the  Pope's  toe, 
he  was  able  to  bring  a  hundred  Italian  towns  in  his  hand,  as  a 
peace-offering  to  his  holiness.^;  These  he  now  restored,  with 
apparent  humility  and  inward  curses,  upon  the  condition 
that  the  fortifications  should  be  razed,  and  the  French  al- 
liance absolutely  renounced.  Thus  did  the  fanaticism  of 
Philip  reverse  the  relative  position  of  himself  and  his  antagon- 
ist. Thus  was  the  vanquished  pontiff  allowed  almost  to 
dictate  terms  to  the  victorious  general.  The  king  who  could 
thus  humble  himself  to  a  dotard,  while  he  made  himself  the 
scourge  of  his  subjects,  deserved  that  the  bull  of  excommuni- 
cation which  had  been  prepared  should  have  been  fulminated. 
He,  at  least,  was  capable  of  feeling  the  scathing  effects  of 
such  anathemas. 

The  Duke  of  Guise,  having  been  dismissed  with  the  pontiff's 
assurance  that  he  had  done  little  for  the  interests  of  his  sov- 
ereign, less  for  the  protection  of  the  Church,  and  least  of 
all  for  his  own  reputation,  set  forth  with  all  speed  for  Civita 
Vecchia,  to  do  what  he  could  upon  the  Flemish  frontier  to 
atone  for  his  inglorious  campaign  in  Italy.  The  treaty 
between  the  Pope  and  the  Duke  of  Alva  was  signed§  on  the 


*  De  Thou,  iii.    127-129,  xviii.     Cabrera,   lib.  iv.  c.  xi.  166-168.— Compare 
Llorente,  Hist.  Critique  de  l'lnquisit.,  ii.  179-183  ;  De  la  Roca,  68-72. 

f  De  Thou.     Cabrera,  ubi  sup,  %  De  Thou,  iii.  128,  §  Ibid. 


166  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

14th  September  (1557),  and  the  Spanish  general  retired  for 
the  winter  to  Milan.  Cardinal  Caraffa  was  removed  from  the 
French  court  to  that  of  Madrid,  there  to  spin  new  schemes  for 
the  embroilment  of  nations  and  the  advancement  of  his  own 
family.  Very  little  glory  was  gained  by  any  of  the  combatants 
in  this  campaign.  Spain,  France,  nor  Paul  IV.,  not  one  of 
them  came  out  of  the  Italian  contest  in  better  condition  than 
that  in  which  they  entered  upon  it.  In  fact  all  were  losers. 
France  had  made  an  inglorious  retreat,  the  Pope  a  ludicrous 
capitulation,  and  the  only  victorious  party,  the  King  of  Spain, 
had,  during  the  summer,  conceded  to  Cosmo  de  Medici  the 
sovereignty  of  Sienna.  Had  Venice  shown  more  cordiality  to- 
wards Philip,  and  more  disposition  to  sustain  his  policy,  it  is 
probable  that  the  Eepublic  would  have  secured  the  prize  which 
thus  fell  to  the  share  of  Cosmo.*  That  astute  and  unprinci- 
pled potentate,  who  could  throw  his  net  so  well  in  troubled 
water,  had  successfully  duped  all  parties,  Spain,  France,  and 
Koine.  The  man  who  had  not  only  not  participated  in  the 
contest,  but  who  had  kept  all  parties  and  all  warfare  away 
from  his  borders,  was  the  only  individual  in  Italy  who  gained 
territorial  advantage  from  the  war. 

To  avoid  interrupting  the  continuity  of  the  narrative,  the 
Spanish  campaign  has  been  briefly  sketched  until  the  autumn 
of  1557,  at  which  period  the  treaty  between  the  Pope  and 
Philip  was  concluded.  It  is  now  necessaiy  to  go  back  to  the 
close  of  the  preceding  year. 

Simultaneously  with  the  descent  of  the  French  troops  upon 
Italy,  hostilities  had  broken  out  upon  the  Flemish  border. 
The  pains  of  the  Emperor  in  covering  the  smouldering  embers 
of  national  animosities  so  precipitately,  and  with  a  view  rather 
to  scenic  effect  than  to  a  deliberate  and  well-considered  result, 
were  thus  set  at  nought,  and  within  a  year  from  the  day  of  his 
abdication,  hostilities  were  reopened  from  the  Tiber  to  the 
German  Ocean.  The  blame  of  first  violating  the  truce  of 
Vaucelles  was  laid  by  each  party  upon  the  other  with  equal 
justice,  for  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  reproach 

*  Suriano  MS. 


1556.]       PROJECTS  ON  THE  FLEMISH  BORDER.         167 

justly  belonged  to  both.  Both  had  been  equally  faithless  in 
their  professions  of  amity.  Both  were  equally  responsible  for 
the  scenes  of  war,  plunder,  and  misery,  which  again  were  deso- 
lating; the  fairest  regions  of  Christendom. 

At  the  time  when  the  French  court  had  resolved  to  concede 
to  the  wishes  of  the  Caraffa  family,  Admiral  Coligny,  who  had 
been  appointed  governor  of  Picardy,  had  received  orders  to 
make  a  foray  upon  the  frontier  of  Flanders.  Before  the 
formal  annunciation  of  hostilities,  it  was  thought  desirable  to 
reap  all  the  advantage  possible  from  the  perfidy  winch  had 
been  resolved  upon. 

It  happened  that  a  certain  banker  of  Lucca,  an  ancient 
gambler  and  debauchee,  whom  evil  courses  had  reduced  from 
affluence  to  penury,  had  taken  up  his  abode  upon  a  hill 
overlooking  the  city  of  Douay.  Here  he  had  built  himself 
a  hermit's  cell.  Clad  in  sackcloth,  with  a  rosary  at  his  waist, 
he  was  accustomed  to  beg  his  bread  from  door  to  door. 
His  garb  was  all,  however,  which  he  possessed  of  sanctity, 
and  he  had  passed  his  time  in  contemplating  the  weak 
points  in  the  defences  of  the  city  with  much  more  minute- 
ness than  those  in  his  own  heart.  Upon  the  breaking  out 
of  hostilities  in  Italy,  the  instincts  of  his  old  profession 
had  suggested  to  him  that  a  good  speculation  might  be  made 
in  Flanders,  by  turning  to  account  as  a  spy  the  observations 
which  he  had  made  in  his  character  of  a  hermit.*  He  sought 
an  interview  with  Coligny,  and  laid  his  propositions  before 
him.  The  noble  Admiral  hesitated,  for  Ins  sentiments  were 
more  elevated  than  those  of  many  of  his  cotemporaries. 
He  had,  moreover,  himself  negotiated  and  signed  the  truce 
with  Spain,  and  he  shrank  from  violating  it  with  his  own 
hand,  before  a  declaration  of  war.  Still  he  was  aware  that  a 
French  army  was  on  its  way  to  attack  the  Spaniards  in 
Italy ;  he  was  under  instructions  to  take  the  earliest  advan- 
tage which  his  position  upon  the  frontier  might  offer  him  ; 
he  knew  that  both  theory  and  practice  authorized  a  general, 

*  De  Thou,  iii.  78,  L  xviii.  P.  C.  Hoofd.  Nederl.  Historien  (Amsterdam, 
1642),  i.  1. 


168  THE    EISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1556. 

in  that  age,  to  break  his  fast,  even  in  time  of  truce,  if  a 
tempting  morsel  should  present  itself;*  and,  above  all,  he 
thoroughly  understood  the  character  of  his  nearest  antagonist, 
the  new  governor  of  the  Netherlands,  Philibert  of  Savoy, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  the  most  unscrupulous  chieftain  in 
Europe.  These  considerations  decided  him  to  take  advantage 
of  the  hermit-banker's  communication. 

A  day  was  accordingly  fixed,  at  which,  under  the  guidance 
of  this  newly-acquired  ally,  a  surprise  should  be  attempted  by 
the  French  forces,  and  the  unsuspecting  city  of  Douay  given 
over  to  the  pillage  of  a  brutal  soldiery.  The  time  appointed 
was  the  night  of  Epiphany,  upon  occasion  of  which  festival,  it 
was  thought  that  the  inhabitants,  overcome  with  sleep  and 
wassail,  might  be  easily  overpowered.  (6th  January,  1557.) 
The  plot  was  a  good  plot,  but  the  Admiral  of  France  was 
destined  to  be  foiled  by  an  old  woman.  This  person,  appa- 
rently the  only  creature  awake  in  the  town,  perceived  the  dan- 
ger, ran  shrieking  through  the  streets,  alarmed  the  citizens 
while  it  was  yet  time,  and  thus  prevented  the  attack.f  Coligny, 
disappointed  in  his  plan,  recompensed  his  soldiers  by  a  sudden 
onslaught  upon  Lens  in  Arthois,  which  he  sacked  and  then 
levelled  with  the  ground.  Such  was  the  wretched  condition  of 
frontier  cities,  standing,  even  in  time  of  peace,  with  the  ground 
undermined  beneath  them,  and  existing  every  moment,  as  it 
were,  upon  the  brink  of  explosion.  J 

Hostilities  having  been  thus  fairly  commenced,  the  French 
government  was  in  some  embarrassment.  The  Duke  of  Guise, 
with  the  most  available  forces  of  the  kingdom,  having  crossed 
the  Alps,  it  became  necessary  forthwith  to  collect  another 
army.  The  place  of  rendezvous  appointed  was  Pierrepoint., 
where  an  army  of  eighteen  thousand  infantry  and  five  thousand 
horse  were  assembled  early  in  the  spring.  §  In  the  mean  time, 
Philip  finding  the  war  fairly  afoot,  had  crossed  to  England 


*  Brantome  ;  art.  Due  de  Savoie. 

f  Do  Thou.     Hoofd,  ubi  sup.  \  Ibid.     Ibid. 

§  De  Thou,  iii.  148,  1.  xviil 


1557.]  DECLARATION   OF   WAR   BY   ENGLAND.  169 

for  the  purpose  (exactly  in  contravention  of  all  his  marriage 
stipulations)  of  cajoling  his  wife  and  browbeating  her  minis- 
ters into  a  participation  in  his  war  with  France.  This  was 
easily  accomplished.  The  English  nation  found  themselves 
accordingly  engaged  in  a  contest  with  which  they  had  no 
concern,  which,  as  the  event  proved,  was  very  much  against 
their  interests,  and  in  which  the  moving  cause  for  their 
entanglement  was  the  devotion  of  a  weak,  bad,  ferocious 
woman,  for  a  husband  who  hated  her.  A  herald  sent  from 
England  arrived  in  France,  disguised,  and  was  presented  to 
King  Henry  at  Rheims.  Here,  dropping  on  one  knee,  he 
recited  a  list  of  complaints  against  his  majesty,  on  behalf  of 
the  English  Queen,  all  of  them  fabricated  or  exaggerated  for 
the  occasion,  and  none  of  them  furnishing  even  a  decorous 
pretext  for  the  war  which  was  now  formally  declared  in  con- 
sequence.* The  French  monarch  expressed  his  regret  and 
surprise  that  the  firm  and  amicable  relations  secured  by  treaty 
between  the  two  countries  should  thus,  without  sufficient  cause, 
be  violated.  In  accepting  the  wager  of  warfare  thus  forced 
upon  him,  he  bade  the  herald,  Norris,  inform  his  mistress  that 
her  messenger  was  treated  with  courtesy  only  because  he  rep- 
resented a  lady,  and  that,  had  he  come  from  a  long,  the 
language  with  which  he  would  have  been  greeted  would  have 
befitted  the  perfidy  manifested  on  the  occasion.  God  would 
punish  this  shameless  violation  of  faith,  and  this  wanton 
interruption  to  the  friendship  of  two  great  nations.  With 
this  the  herald  was  dismissed  from  the  royal  presence,  but 
treated  with  great  destinction,  conducted  to  the  hotel  of  the 
English  ambassador,  and  presented,  on  the  part  of  the  French 
sovereign  with  a  chain  of  gold.f 

Philip  had  despatched  Ruy  Gomez  to  Spain  for  the  pur- 
pose of  providing  ways  and  means,  while  he  was  himself 
occupied  with  the  same  task  in  England.;-;  He  stayed  there 
three   months.      During   this   time,   he    "did   more,"   says   a 


e  Hoofd,  1.  1.     De  Thou,  iii.  144.  f  De  Thou.     Hoofd,  ubi  sup. 

\  Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Hist,  de  Espaiia.,  ix.  487. 


170  THE    RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

Spanish  contemporary,  "  than  any  one  could  have  believed 
possible  with  that  proud  and  indomitable  nation.  He  caused 
them  to  declare  war  against  France  with  fire  and  sword,  by 
sea  and  land."*  Hostilities  having  been  thus  chivalrously 
and  formally  established,  the  Queen  sent  an  army  of  eight 
thousand  men,  cavalry,  infantry,  and  pioneers,  who,  "all 
clad  in  blue  uniform,"f  commanded  by  Lords  Pembroke  and 
Clinton,  with  the  three  sons  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
and  officered  by  many  other  scions  of  England's  aristocracy, 
disembarked  at  Calais,  and  shortly  afterwards  joined  the 
camp  before  Saint  Quentin.J 

Philip  meantime  had  left  England,  and  with  more  bustle 
and  activity  than  was  usual  with  him,  had  given  directions 
for  organizing  at  once  a  considerable  army.  It  was  com- 
posed mainly  of  troops  belonging  to  the  Netherlands,  with 
the  addition  of  some  German  auxiliaries.  Thirty-five  thou- 
sand foot  and  twelve  thousand  horse  had,  by  the  middle  of 
July,  advanced  through  the  province  of  Namur,  and  were 
assembled  at  G-ivet  under  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  who,  as 
Governor-General  of  the  Netherlands,  held  the  chief  com- 
mand^ All  the  most  eminent  grandees  of  the  provinces, 
Orange,  Aerschot,  Berlaymont,  Meghen,  Brederode,  were  pres- 
ent with  the  troops,  but  the  life  and  soul  of  the  army,  upon 
this  memorable  occasion,  was  the  Count  of  Egmont. 

Lamoral,  Count  of  Egmont,  Prince  of  Gavere,  was  now 
in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  age,||  in  the  very  noon  of  that 
brilliant  life  which  was  destined  to  be  so  soon  and  so  fatally 
overshadowed.  Not  one  of  the  dark  clouds,  which  were  in 
the  future  to  accumulate  around  him,  had  yet  rolled  above  his 
horizon.  Young,  noble,  wealthy,  handsome,  valiant,  he  saw 
no  threatening  phantom  in  the  future,  and  caught  eagerly  at 
the  golden  opportunity,  which  the  present  placed  within  his 


*  Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Hist,  de  Espana,  ix.  487. 

f  Meteren,  i.  18.  \  Meteren,  ubi  sup.     Hoof  J,  i.  8. 

§  Meteren.     Hoofd,  ubi  sup.     De  Thou,  iii.     Liv.  xix. 

J  He    was    born    in    1522. — Levensb.    ber.    Nederl.    Man.    en    vr.    V. ;    art 
Egmond. 


1557.]  COUNT   EGMONT.  171 

grasp,  of  winning  fresh  laurels  on  a  wider  and  more  fruitful 
field  than  any  in  which  he  had  hitherto  been  a  reaper.  The 
campaign  about  to  take  place  was  likely  to  be  an  imposing, 
if  not  an  important  one,  and  could  not  fail  to  be  attractive  to 
a  noble  of  so  ardent  and  showy  a  character  as  Egmont.  If 
there  were  no  lofty  principles  or  extensive  interests  to  be  con- 
tended for,  as  there  certainly  were  not,  there  was  yet  much 
that  was  stately  and  exciting  to  the  imagination  in  the  war- 
fare which  had  been  so  deliberately  and  pompously  arranged, 
The  contending  armies,  although  of  moderate  size,  were  com- 
posed of  picked  troops,  and  were  commanded  by  the  flower  of 
Europe's  chivalry.  Kings,  princes,  and  the  most  illustrious 
paladins  of  Christendom,  were  arming  for  the  great  tourna- 
ment, to  which  they  had  been  summoned  by  herald  and 
trumpet ;  and  the  Batavian  hero,  without  a  crown  or  even  a 
country,  but  with  as  lofty  a  lineage  as  many  anointed  sove- 
reigns could  boast,  was  ambitious  to  distinguish  himself  in 
the  proud  array. 

Upon  the  north-western  edge  of  the  narrow  peninsula  of 
North  Holland,  washed  by  the  stormy  waters  of  the  German 
Ocean,  were  the  ancient  castle,  town,  and  lordship,  whence 
Egmont  derived  his  family  name,  and  the  title  by  which  he  was 
most  familiarly  known.  He  was  supposed  to  trace  his  descent, 
through  a  line  of  chivalrous  champions  and  crusaders,  up  to  the 
pagan  kings  of  the  most  ancient  of  existing  Teutonic  races. 
The  eighth  century  names  of  the  Frisian  Eadbold  and  Aclgild* 
among  his  ancestors  were  thought  to  denote  the  antiquity  of 
a  house  whose  lustre  had  been  increased  in  later  times  by  the 
splendor  of  its  alliances.  His  father,  united  to  Frangoise  de 
Luxemburg,  Princess  of  Gavere,  had  acquired  by  this  mar- 
riage, and  transmitted  to  his  posterity,  many  of  the  proudest 
titles  and  richest  estates  of  Flanders.  Of  the  three  children 
who  survived  him,  the  only  daughter  was  afterwards  united  to 
the  Count  of  Vaudemont,  and  became  mother  of  Louise  de 
Vaudemont,  queen  of  the  French  monarch,  Henry  the  Third. 


*  Levensbe.  beroemd.  Nederl.  v.  L 


172  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

Of  his  two  sons,  Charles,  the  elder,  had  died  young  and  unmarried, 
leaving  all  the  estates  and  titles  of  the  family  to  his  brother. 
Lamoral,  born  in  1522,  was  in  early  youth  a  page  of  the  Em- 
peror. When  old  enough  to  bear  arms  he  demanded  and 
obtained  permission  to  follow  the  career  of  his  adventurous 
sovereign.  He  served  his  apprenticeship  as  a  soldier  in  the 
stormy  expedition  to  Barbary,  where,  in  his  nineteenth  year, 
he  commanded  a  troop  of  Ught  horse,  and  distinguished  him- 
self under  the  Emperor's  eye  for  his  courage  and  devotion, 
doing  the  duty  not  only  of  a  gallant  commander  but  of  a 
hardy  soldier.*  Eeturning,  unscathed  by  the  war,  flood,  or 
tempest  of  that  memorable  enterprise,  he  reached  his  country 
by  the  way  of  Corsica,  Genoa,  and  Lorraine,  and  was  three 
years  afterwards  united  (in  the  year  1545)  to  Sabina  of 
Bavaria,  sister  of  Frederick,  Elector  Palatine.  The  nuptials 
had  taken  place  at  Spiers,  and  few  royal  weddings  could  have 
been  more  brilliant.  The  Emperor,  his  brother  Ferdinand 
King  of  the  Romans,  with  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  all  the 
imperial  electors,  and  a  concourse  of  the  principal  nobles  of  the 
empire,  were  present  on  the  occasion. 

In  the  following  year,  Charles  invested  him  with  the  order 
of  the  Fleece  at  a  chapter  held  at  Utrecht.     In  1553,  he  had 


*  "  Pour  avoir  este  nourry  toute  sa  vie  entre  les  amies,  soubs  ce  grand  guerrier 
Charles  le  Quint,  n'estant  eage  que  dix  sept  ans  ou  dix  huit  ans,  quand  il  commenca 
son  premier  apprentissage  au  voyage  de  Thunis,  conduisant  une  campaignie  de 
cavaillerie  legere  ou  il  fit  1'ofEce  non  seulement  de  capitaine  mais  aussy  de  trea 
hardy  soldat." — De  la  Guerre  Civile  des  Pays  Bas,  par  Pontus  Payen.     MS. 

"We  shall  often  have  occasion  to  cite  this  manuscript  in  the  course  of  this  volume. 
It  is  remarkable  that  so  valuable  and  interesting  a  fragment  of  contempora> 
neous  history  should  have  remained  unpublished.  Its  author,  Pontus  Payen; 
Seigneur  des  Essarts,  was  of  the  royal  party,  and  a  very  determined  Catholic. 
He  was  in  close  relations  with  many  important  personages  of  the  times  which 
he  describes,  and  his  work  contains  many  striking  sketches,  characteristic  anec- 
dotes, minute  traits,  which  show  the  keen  observer  of  men  and  things.  More 
than  any  Netherlander  of  his  day,  he  possessed  the  dramatic  power  of  setting 
before  the  eyes  of  his  readers  the  men  and  scenes  familiar  to  himself.  His  work 
is  full  of  color  and  invaluable  detail.  There  are  several  copies  extant  in  the 
different  libraries  of  the  Netherlands.  The  one  which  I  have  used  is  that  in  the 
Royal  Library  of  the  Hague  (Fonds  Gerard  B.  103). 


1557.]  HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTER,  173 

been  at  the  Emperor's  side  during  the  unlucky  siege  of  Metz ; 
in  1554  he  had  been  sent  at  the  head  of  a  splendid  embassy 
to  England,  to  solicit  for  Philip  the  hand  of  Mary  Tudor,  and 
had  witnessed  the  marriage  in  Winchester  Cathedral,  the 
same  year.  Although  one  branch  of  his  house  had,  in  past 
times,  arrived  at  the  sovereignty  of  Gueldres,  and  another  had 
acquired  the  great  estates  and  titles  of  Buren,  which  had 
recently  passed,  by  intermarriage  with  the  heiress,  into  the 
possession  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  yet  the  Prince  of 
Gavere,  Count  of  Egmont,  was  the  chief  of  a  race  which 
yielded  to  none  of  the  great  Batavian  or  Flemish  families  in 
antiquity,  wealth,  or  power.  Personally,  he  was  distinguished 
for  his  bravery,  and  although  he  was  not  yet  the  idol  of  the 
camp,  which  he  was  destined  to  become,  nor  had  yet  com- 
manded in  chief  on  any  important  occasion,  he  was  accounted 
one  of  the  five  principal  generals  in  the  Spanish  service.0 
Eager  for  general  admiration,  he  was  at  the  same  time  haughty 
and  presumptuous,  attempting  to  combine  the  characters  of  an 
arrogant  magnate  and  a  popular  chieftain.  Terrible  and  sudden 
in  his  wrath,  he  was  yet  of  inordinate  vanity,  and  was  easily 
led  by  those  who  understood  his  weakness.  With  a  limited 
education,  and  a  slender  capacity  for  all  affairsf  except  those 
relating  to  the  camp,  he  was  destined  to  be  as  vacillating 
and  incompetent  as  a  statesman,  as  he  was  prompt  and 
fortunately  audacious  in  the  field.  A  splendid  soldier,  his 
evil  stars  had  destined  him  to  tread,  as  a  politician,  a  dark 
and  dangerous  path,  in  which  not  even  genius,  caution, 
and  intesrritv  could  ensure  success,  but  in  which  rashness 
alternating  with  hesitation,  and  credulity  with  violence,  could 
not  fail  to  bring  ruin.  Such  was  Count  Egmont,  as  he  took 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  king's  cavalry  in  the  summer  of 
1557. 

The  early  operations  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  were  at  first 


*  Suriano  MS. 

f  " peu  verse  aux  lettres,  grossier  et  ignorant  en  matiere  d'Estat  police 

civile,"  etc. — Pontus  Payen  MS. 


174  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

intended  to  deceive  the  enemy.  The  army,  after  advancing  as 
far  into  Picardy  as  the  town  of  Vervins,  which  they  burned 
and  pillaged,  made  a  demonstration  with  their  whole  force 
upon  the  city  of  Guise.  This,  however,  was  but  a  feint,  by 
which  attention  was  directed  and  forces  drawn  off  from  Saint 
Quentin,  which  was  to  be  the  real  point  of  attack  In  the 
mean  time,  the  Constable  of  France,  Montmorency,  arrived 
upon  the  28th  July  (1557),  to  take  command  of  the  French 
troops.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  Marechal  de  Saint  Andre 
and  by  Admiral  Coligny.  The  most  illustrious  names  of 
France,  whether  for  station  or  valor,  were  in  the  officers'  list 
of  this  select  army.  Nevers  and  Montpensier,  Enghien  and 
Conde,  Vendome  and  Kochefoucauld,  were  already  there,  and 
now  the  Constable  and  the  Admiral  came  to  add  the  strength 
of  their  experience  and  lofty  reputation  to  sustain  the  courage 
of  the  troops.  The  French  were  at  Pierrepoint,  a  post  be- 
tween Champagne  and  Picardy,  and  in  its  neighborhood. 
The  Spanish  army  was  at  Vervins,  and  threatening  Guise.  It 
had  been  the  opinion  in  France  that  the  enemy's  intention  was 
to  invade  Champagne,  and  the  Due  de  Nevers,  governor  of  that 
province,  had  made  a  disposition  of  his  forces  suitable  for  such 
a  contingency.  It  was  the  conviction  of  Montmorency,  how- 
ever, that  Picardy  was  to  be  the  quarter  really  attacked,*  and 
that  Saint  Quentin,  which  was  the  most  important  point  at 
which  the  enemy's  progress,  by  that  route,  towards  Paris  could 
be  arrested,  was  in  imminent  danger.  The  Constable's  opinion 
was  soon  confirmed  by  advices  received  by  Coligny.  The 
enemy's  army,  he  was  informed,  after  remaining  three  days 
before  Guise,  had  withdrawn  from  that  point,  and  had  invested 
Saint  Quentin  with  their  whole  force. 

This  wealthy  and  prosperous  city  stood  upon  an  elevation 
rising  from  the  river  Somme.  It  was  surrounded  by  very 
extensive  suburbs,  ornamented  with  orchards  and  gardens, 
and  including  within  their  limits  large  tracts  of  a  highly  cul- 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  149,  xix. 


1557.]  CITY    OF   ST.    QUENTIN.  175 

tivated  soil.*  Three  sides  of  the  place  were  covered  by  a 
lake,  thirty  yards  in  width,  very  deep  at  some  points,  in  others, 
rather  resembling  a  morass,  and  extending  on  the  Flemish 
side  a  half  mile  beyond  the  city.f  The  inhabitants  were 
thriving  and  industrious  ;  many  of  the  manufacturers  and 
merchants  were  very  rich,  for  it  was  a  place  of  much  traffic  and 
commercial  importance.  J 

Teligny,  son-in-law  of  the  Admiral,  was  in  the  city  with  a 
detachment  of  the  Dauphin's  regiment  ;  Captain  Brueuil  was 
commandant  of  the  town.  Both  informed  Coligny  of  the 
imminent  peril  in  which  they  stood.  They  represented  the 
urgent  necessity  of  immediate  reinforcements  both  of  men  and 
supplies.  The  city,  as  the  Admiral  well  knew,  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  stand  a  siege  by  such  an  army,  and  dire  were  the 
consequences  which  would  follow  the  downfall  of  so  important 
a  place.  It  was  still  practicable,  they  wrote,  to  introduce 
succor,  but  every  day  diminished  the  possibility  of  affording 
effectual  relief.  Coligny  was  not  the  man  to  let  the  grass 
grow  under  his  feet,  after  such  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
principal  place  in  his  government.  The  safety  of  France  was 
dependent  upon  that  of  St.  Quentin.  The  bulwark  over- 
thrown, Paris  was  within  the  next  stride  of  an  adventurous 
enemy.  The  Admiral  instantly  set  out,  upon  the  2d  of  August, 
with  strong  reinforcements.  It  was  too  late.  The  English 
auxiliaries,  under  Lords  Pembroke,  Clinton,  and  Grey,  had, 
in  the  mean  time,  effected  their  junction  with  the  Duke  of 
Savoy,  and  appeared  in  the  camp  before  St.  Quentin.  The 
route,  by  which  it  had  been  hoped  that  the  much  needed  succor 
could  be  introduced,  was  thus  occupied  and  rendered  impracti- 


*  "  Batalla  de  San  Quintin.  Copiada  do  un  codice  MS.  de  la  Bib.  del  Escorial." 
— Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  490. 

The  manuscript  thus  published  in  the  Madrid  collection  of  documents  is  by  an 
anonymous  writer,  but  one  who  was  present  at  the  siege,  which  he  has  well 
described.  His  sketch  is,  however,  entitled  as  above,  "the  Battle  of  St.  Quintin," 
and  its  most  remarkable  feature  is.  that  he  does  not  once  mention  the  name 
of  Egmont  as  connected  with  that  action.  Certainly  national  rivalry  could 
no  further  go.  -(•  Documentos  Ineditos,  491,  492.  J  Ibid. 


176  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    EEPUBLIC.  [1557. 

cable.  The  Admiral,  however,  in  consequence  of  the  urgent 
nature  of  the  letters  received  from  Brueuil  and  Teligny,  had 
outstripped,  in  his  anxiety,  the  movements  of  his  troops.  He 
reached  the  city,  almost  alone  and  unattended  Notwith- 
standing the  remonstrances  of  his  officers,  he  had  listened  to 
no  voice  save  the  desperate  entreaties  of  the  besieged  garrison, 
and  had  flown  before  his  army.  He  now  shut  himself  up  in 
the  city,*  determined  to  effect  its  deliverance  by  means  of  his 
skill  and  experience,  or,  at  least,  to  share  its  fate.  As  the 
gates  closed  upon  Coligny,  the  road  was  blocked  up  for  his 
advancing  troops.f 

A  few  days  were  passed  in  making  ineffectual  sorties, 
ordered  by  Coligny  for  the  sake  of  reconnoitring  the  country, 
and  of  discovering  the  most  practicable  means  of  introducing 
supplies.  The  Constable,  meantime,  who  had  advanced  with 
his  army  to  La  Fere,  was  not  idle.  He  kept  up  daily  com- 
munications with  the  beleagured  Admiral,  and  was  determined, 
if  possible,  to  relieve  the  city.  There  was,  however,  a  con- 
stant succession  of  disappointments.  Moreover,  the  brave  but 
indiscreet  Teligny,  who  commanded  during  a  temporary  illness 
of  the  Admiral,  saw  fit,  against  express  orders,  to  make  an 
imprudent  sortie.  He  pjaid  the  penalty  of  his  rashness  with 
his  life.  He  was  rescued  by  the  Admiral  in  person,  who,  at 
imminent  hazard,  brought  back  the  unfortunate  officer  covered 
with  wounds,  into  the  city,  there  to  die  at  his  father's  feet, 
imploring  forgiveness  for  his  disobedience.^  Meantime  the 
garrison  was  daily  growing  weaker.  Coligny  sent  out  of  the 
city  all  useless  consumers,  quartered  all  the  women  in  the 
cathedral  and  other  churches,  where  they  were  locked  in,  lest 
their  terror  and  their  tears  should  weaken  the  courage  of  the 
garrison  ;  and  did  all  in  Ins  power  to  strengthen  the  defences 
of  the  city,  and  sustain  the  resolution  of  the  inhabitants. 
Affairs  were  growing  desperate.  It  seemed  plain  that  the 
important   city  must  soon   fall,  and  with  it  most   probably 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  251,  xix.     Hoofd,  i.  8.  f  De  Thou.     Hoofd. 

X  De  Thou,  iii.  152. 


1557.]  the  constable's  project.  177 

Paris.  One  of  the  suburbs  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  At  last  Coligny  discovered  a  route  by  which  he 
believed  it  to  be  still  possible  to  introduce  reinforcements. 
He  communicated  the  results  of  his  observations  to  the 
Constable.  Upon  one  side  of  the  city  the  lake,  or  morass,  was 
traversed  by  a  few  difficult  and  narrow  pathways,  mostly 
under  water,  and  by  a  running  stream  which  could  only  be 
passed  in  boats.  The  Constable,  in  consequence  of  this  inform- 
ation received  from  Coligny,  set  out  from  La  Fere  upon  the 
8th  of  August,  with  four  thousand  infantry  and  two  thousand 
horse.  Halting  his  troops  at  the  village  of  Essigny,  he  advanced 
in  person  to  the  edge  of  the  morass,  in  order  to  reconnoitre  the 
ground  and  prepare  his  plans.  The  result  was  a  determination 
to  attempt  the  introduction  of  men  and  supplies  into  the  town 
by  the  mode  suggested.  Leaving  his  troops  drawn  up  in  battle 
array,  he  returned  to  La  Fere  for  the  remainder  of  his  army, 
and  to  complete  his  preparations.*  Coligny  in  the  mean  time 
was  to  provide  boats  for  crossing  the  stream.  Upon  the 
10th  August,  which  was  the  festival  of  St.  Laurence,  the 
Constable  advanced  with  four  pieces  of  heavy  artillery,  four 
culverines,  and  four  lighter  pieces,  and  arrived  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  near  the  Faubourg  d'Isle,  which  was  already 
in  possession  of  the  Spanish  troops.  The  whole  army  of  the 
Constable  consisted  of  twelve  thousand  German,  with  fifteen 
companies  of  French  infantry  ;  making  in  all  some  sixteen 
thousand  foot,  with  five  thousand  cavalry  in  addition.  The 
Duke  of  Savoy's  army  lay  upon  the  same  side  of  the  town, 
widely  extended,  and  stretching  beyond  the  river  and  the 
morass.  Montmorency's  project  was  to  be  executed  in  full  view 
of  the  enemy.  Fourteen  companies  of  Spaniards  were  stationed 
in  the  faubourg.  Two  companies  had  been  pushed  forward 
as  far  as  a  water-mill,  which  lay  in  the  pathway  of  the 
advancing  Constable.  These  soldiers  stood  their  ground  for  a 
moment,  but  soon  retreated,  while  a  cannonade  was  suddenly 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  154.     Meteren,  L  18. 
VOL.  I.  12 


178  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

opened  by  the  French  upon  the  quarters  of  the  Duke  of 
Savoy.  The  Duke's  tent  was  torn  to  pieces,  and  he  had 
barely  time  to  hurry  on  his  cuirass,  and  to  take  refuge 
with  Count  Egmont.*  The  Constable,  hastening  to  turn 
this  temporary  advantage  to  account  at  once,  commenced 
the  transportation  of  his  troops  across  the  morass.  The  enter- 
prise was,  however,  not  destined  to  be  fortunate.  The  number 
of  boats  which  had  been  provided  was  very  inadequate  ;  more- 
over they  were  very  small,  and  each  as  it  left  the  shore  was 
consequently  so  crowded  with  soldiers  that  it  was  in  danger  of 
being  swamped.  Several  were  overturned,  and  the  men  perished. 
It  was  found  also  that  the  opposite  bank  was  steep  and  dan- 
gerous. Many  who  had  crossed  the  river  were  unable  to  effect 
a  landing,  while  those  who  escaped  drowning  in  the  water  lost 
their  way  in  the  devious  and  impracticable  paths,  or  perished 
miserably  in  the  treacherous  quagmires.  Very  few  effected 
their  entrance  into  the  town,  but  among  them  was  Andelot, 
brother  of  Coligny,  with  five  hundred  followers.  Meantime, 
a  council  of  officers  was  held  in  Egmont's  tent.  Opinions 
were  undecided  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  under 
the  circumstances.  Should  an  engagement  be  risked,  or 
should  the  Constable,  who  had  but  indifferently  accom- 
plished his  project  and  had  introduced  but  an  insignificant 
number  of  troops  into  the  city,  be  allowed  to  withdraw  with 
the  rest  of  his  army  ?  The  fiery  vehemence  of  Egmont 
carried  all  before  it.f  Here  was  an  opportunity  to  measure' 
arms  at  advantage  with  the  great  captain  of  the  age.  To 
relinquish  the  prize,  which  the  fortune  of  war  had  now  placed 
within  reach  of  their  valor,  was  a  thought  not  to  be  enter- 
tained. Here  was  the  great  Constable  Montmorency,  attended 
by  princes  of  the  royal  blood,  the  proudest  of  the  nobility, 
the  very  crown  and  flower  of  the  chivalry  of  France,  and 
followed  by  an  army  of  her  bravest  troops.  On  a  desperate 
venture  he  had  placed  himself  within  their  grasp.     Should  he 


*  Hoofd,  i.  8.     Meteren,  i.  18.     De  Thou,  iii.  151 
f  Hoofd,  i.  8.     Meteren,  i.  18. 


1557.]  THE    BATTLE    RESOLVED    UPON.  179 

go  thence  alive  and  unmolested  ?  The  moral  effect  of  de- 
stroying such  an  army  would  be  greater  than  if  it  were  twice 
its  actual  strength.  It  would  be  dealing  a  blow  at  the  very 
heart  of  France,  from  which  she  could  not  recover.  Was  the 
opportunity  to  be  resigned  without  a  struggle  of  laying  at  the 
feet  of  Philip,  in  this  his  first  campaign  since  his  accession  to 
his  father's  realms,  a  prize  worthy  of  the  proudest  hour  of  the 
Emperor's  reign  ?  The  eloquence  of  the  impetuous  Batavian 
was  irresistible,  and  it  was  determined  to  cut  off  the  Constable's 
retreat.* 

Three  miles  from  the  Faubourg  d'Isle,  to  which  that 
general  had  now  advanced,  was  a  narrow  pass  or  defile, 
between  steep  and  closely  hanging  hills.  While  advancing 
through  this  ravine  in  the  morning,  the  Constable  had 
observed  that  the  enemy  might  have  it  in  their  power  to  inter- 
cept his  return  at  that  point.  He  had  therefore  left  the 
Rhinegrave,  with  his  company  of  mounted  carabineers,  to 
guard  the  passage.  Being  ready  to  commence  his  retreat,  he 
now  sent  forward  the  Due  de  Nevers,  with  four  companies  of 
cavalry  to  strengthen  that  important  position,  which  he  feared 
might  be  inadequately  guarded.  The  act  of  caution  came  too 
late.  This  was  the  fatal  point  which  the  quick  glance  of 
Egmont  had  at  once  detected.  As  Nevers  reached  the  spot, 
two  thousand  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  rode  through  and  occu-  • 
pied  the  narrow  passage.  Inflamed  by  mortification  and 
despair,  Nevers  would  have  at  once  charged  those  troops, 
although  outnumbering  his  own  by  nearly  four  to  one.  His 
officers  restrained  him  with  difficulty,  recalling  to  his  memory 
the  peremptory  orders  which  he  had  received  from  the  Con- 
stable to  guard  the  passage,  but  on  no  account  to  hazard  an 
engagement,  until  sustained  by  the  body  of  the  army.  It 
was  a  case  in  which  rashness  would  have  been  the  best 
discretion.  The  headlong  charge  which  the  Duke  had  been 
about  to  make,  might  possibly  have  cleared  the  path  and  have 
extricated  the  army,  provided  the  Constable  had  followed  up 


*  Hoofd.     MetereD,  ubi  sup. 


180  THE    KISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

the  movement  by  a  rapid  advance  upon  his  part.  As  it  was, 
the  passage  was  soon  blocked  up  by  freshly  advancing  bodies 
of  Spanish  and  Flemish  cavalry,  while  Nevers  slowly  and 
reluctantly  fell  back  upon  the  Prince  of  Conde,  who  was 
stationed  with  the  right  horse  at  the  mill  where  the  first 
skirmish  had  taken  place.  They  were  soon  joined  by  the 
Constable,  with  the  main  body  of  the  army.  The  whole 
French  force  now  commenced  its  retrograde  movement.  It 
was,  however,  but  too  evident  that  they  were  enveloped.  As 
they  approached  the  fatal  pass  through  which  lay  their  only 
road  to  La  Fere,  and  which  was  now  in  complete  possession  of 
the  enemy,  the  signal  of  assault  was  given  by  Count  Egmont. 
That  general  himself,  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  light  horse, 
led  the  charge  upon  the  left  flank.  The  other  side  was 
assaulted  by  the  Dukes  Eric  and  Henry  of  Brunswick,  each 
with  a  thousand  heavy  dragoons,  sustained  by  Count  Horn,  at 
the  head  of  a  regiment  of  mounted  gendarmerie.  Mansfeld, 
Lalain,  Hoogstraaten,  and  Vilain,  at  the  same  time  made  a 
furious  attack  upon  the  front.  The  French  cavalry  wavered 
with  the  shock  so  vigorously  given.  The  camp  followers, 
sutlers,  and  pedlers,  panic-struck,  at  once  fled  helter-skelter, 
and  in  their  precipitate  retreat,  carried  confusion  and  dismay 
throughout  all  the  ranks  of  the  army.  The  rout  was  sudden 
and  total.  The  onset  and  the  victory  were  simultaneous. 
Nevers  riding  through  a  hollow  with  some  companies  of 
cavalry,  in  the  hope  of  making  a  detour  and  presenting  a  new 
front  to  the  enemy,  was  overwhelmed  at  once  by  the  retreating 
French  and  their  furious  pursuers.  The  day  was  lost,  retreat 
hardly  possible,  yet,  by  a  daring  and  desperate  effort,  the  Duke, 
accompanied  by  a  handful  of  followers,  cut  his  way  through 
the  enemy  and  effected  his  escape.  The  cavalry  had  been 
broken  at  the  first  onset  and  nearly  destroyed.  A  portion  of 
the  infantry  still  held  firm,  and  attempted  to  continue  their 
retreat.  Some  pieces  of  artillery,  however,  now  opened  upon 
them,  and  before  they  reached  Essigny,  the  whole  army  was 
completely  annihilated.  The  defeat  was  absolute.  Half  the 
French  troops  actually  engaged  in  the  enterprise,  lost  their 


1557.]  THE   VICTORY.  181 

lives  upon  the  field.  The  remainder  of  the  army  was  captured 
or  utterly  disorganized.  When  Nevers  reviewed,  at  Laon,  the 
wreck  of  the  Constable's  whole  force,  he  found  some  thirteen 
hundred  French  and  three  hundred  German  cavalry,  with  four 
companies  of  French  infantry  remaining  out  of  fifteen,  and 
four  thousand  German  foot  remaining  of  twelve  thousand. 
Of  twenty-one  or  two  thousand  remarkably  fine  and  well- 
appointed  troops,  all  but  six  thousand  had  been  killed  or 
made  prisoners  within  an  hour.  The  Constable  himself,  with 
a  wound  in  the  groin,  was  a  captive.  The  Duke  of  Enghien, 
after  behaving  with  brilliant  valor,  and  many  times  rallying 
the  troops,  was  shot  through  the  body,  and  brought  into  the 
enemy's  camp  only  to  expire.  The  Due  de  Montpensier,  the 
Marshal  de  Saint  Andre,  the  Due  de  Longueville,  Prince 
Ludovic  of  Mantua,  the  Baron  Corton,  la  Roche  du  Mayne, 
the  Rhinegrave,  the  Coimts  de  Rochefoucauld,  d'Aubigni, 
de  Rochefort,  all  were  taken.  The  Due  de  Nevers,  the 
Prince  of  Conde,  with  a  few  others,  escaped  ;  although  so 
absolute  was  the  conviction  that  such  an  escape  was  im- 
possible, that  it  was  not  believed  by  the  victorious  army. 
When  Nevers  sent  a  trumpet,  after  the  battle,  to  the  Duke 
of  Savoy,  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  concerning  the  pris- 
oners, the  trumpeter  was  pronounced  an  impostor,  and  the 
Duke's  letter  a  forgery  ;  nor  was  it  till  after  the  whole  field 
had  been  diligently  searched  for  his  dead  body  without  success, 
that  Nevers  could  persuade  the  conquerors  that  he  was  still  in 
existence.* 

Of  Philip's  army  but  fifty  lost  their  Kves.f  Lewis  of 
Brederode  was  smothered  in  his  armor  ;  and  the  two  counts 
Spiegelberg  and  Count  Waldeck  were  also  killed  ;  besides  these, 
no  officer  of  distinction  fell.  All  the  French  standards  and  all 
their  artillery  but  two  pieces  were  taken,  and  placed  before 
the  King,  who  the  next  day  came  into  the  camp  before  Saint 
Quentin.  The  prisoners  of  distinction  were  likewise  presented 
to  him  in  long  procession.     Rarely  had  a  monarch'  of  Spain 


De  Thou.  Hi.  161,  162,  xix.  t  Ibid. 


182  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

enjoyed  a  more  signal  triumph  than  this  which  Philip  now- 
owed  to  the  gallantry  and  promptness  of  Count  Egmont.* 

While  the  King  stood  reviewing  the  spoils  of  victory,  a 
light  horseman  of  Don  Henrico  Manrique's  regiment  ap- 
proached, and  presented  him  with  a  sword.  "  I  am  the 
man,  may  it  please  your  Majesty,"  said  the  trooper,  "who 
took  the  Constable  ;  here  is  his  sword  ;  may  your  Majesty  be 
pleased  to  give  me  something  to  eat  in  my  house."  "  I 
promise  it/'  replied  Philip  ;  upon  which  the  soldier  kissed 
his  Majesty's  hand  and  retired. f  It  was  the  custom  uni- 
versally recognized  in  that  day,  that  the  king  was  the 
king's  captive,  and  the  general  the  general's,  but  that  the 
man,  whether  soldier  or  officer,  who  took  the  commander-in- 
chief,  was  entitled  to  ten  thousand  ducats.^  Upon  this 
occasion  the  Constable  was  the  prisoner  of  Philip,  supposed 
to  command  his  own  army  in  person.  A  certain  Spanish 
Captain  Valenzuela,  however,  disputed  the  soldier's  claim  to 
the  Constable's  sword.  The  trooper  advanced  at  once  to  the 
Constable,  who  stood  there  with  the  rest  of  the  illustrious 
prisoners.  "  Your  excellency  is  a  Christian,"  said  he  ;  "please 
to  declare  upon  your  conscience  and  the  faith  of  a  cavalier, 
whether  'twas  I  that  took  you  prisoner.  It  need  not  sur- 
prise your  excellency  that  I  am  but  a  soldier,  since  with 
soldiers  his  Majesty  must  wage  his  wars."  "  Certainly,"  re- 
plied the  Constable,  "  you  took  me  and  took  my  horse,  and 
I  gave  you  my  sword.  My  word,  however,  I  pledged  to 
Captain  Valenzuela."     It  appearing,  however,  that  the  custom 


*  Hoofd,  i.  8,  9.  MetereD,  i.  18,  sqq.  De  Thou,  iii.  157-160.  Bor,  i.  16.  Tho 
Netherland  accounts  generally  give  at  least  four  thousand  killed  of  the  French 
army.  A  cotemporary  proclamation  for  a  thanksgiving  issued  by  the  govern- 
ment, fourteen  days  after  the  battle,  states,  however,  the  number  of  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  on  the  French  side,  at  forty-eight  "  companies"  of  in- 
fantry and  five  thousand  cavalry. — Van  "Wyn,  Byvoegsel3  en  Anmerkingen  op 
Wagenaar  Vaderl.  Hist.  (Amst.  1792),  vi.  13-15. 

f  Battalia  de  San  Quintin.     Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  496. 

\   " es  cosa  muy  antiqua  entre  gente  de  guerra  que  el  general  es  del  gen- 

eral  y  el  Rey  del  Rey:  pero  a  quien  le  prende  lo  dan  10,000  ducados." — Ibid. 


1557.]  egmont's  eenown.  183 

of  Spain  did  not  recognize  a  pledge  given  to  any  one  but  the 
actual  captor,  it  was  arranged  that  the  soldier  should  give  two 
thousand  of  his  ten  thousand  ducats  to  the  captain.  Thus  the 
dispute  ended.* 

Such  was  the  brilliant  victory  of  Saint  Quentin,  worthy  to 
be  placed  in  the  same  list  with  the  world-renowned  combats 
of  Crecy  and  Agincourt.  Like  those  battles,  also,  it  derives 
its  main  interest  from  the  personal  character  of  the  leader, 
while  it  seems  to  have  been  hallowed  by  the  tender  emotions 
which  sprang  from  his  subsequent  fate.  The  victory  was  but  a 
happy  move  in  a  winning  game.  The  players  were  kings, 
and  the  people  were  stakes — not  parties.  It  was  a  chivalrous 
display  in  a  war  which  was  waged  without  honorable  pur- 
pose, and  in  which  no  single  lofty  sentiment  was  involved. 
The  Flemish  frontier  was,  however,  saved  for  the  time  from 
the  misery  which  was  now  to  be  inflicted  upon  the  French 
border.  This  was  sufficient  to  cause  the  victory  to  be  hailed  as 
rapturously  by  the  people  as  by  the  troops.  From  that  day 
forth  the  name  of  the  brave  Hollander  was  like  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet  to  the  army.  "  Egmont  and  Saint  Quentin"  rang 
through  every  mouth  to  the  furthest  extremity  of  Philip's 
realms.f  A  deadly  blow  was  struck  to  the  very  heart  of 
France.  The  fruits  of  all  the  victories  of  Francis  and  Henry 
withered.  The  battle,  with  others  which  were  to  follow  it, 
won  by  the  same  hand,  were  soon  to  compel  the  signature  of 
the  most  disastrous  treaty  which  had  ever  disgraced  the  history 
of  France. 

The  fame  and  power  of  the  Constable  faded — his  misfor- 
tunes and  captivity  fell  like  a  blight  upon  the  ancient  glory 
of  the  house  of  Montmorency — his  enemies  destroyed  his 
influence  and  his  popularity — while  the  degradation  of  the 
kingdom  was  simultaneous  with  the  downfall  of  his  illustrious 
name4  On  the  other  hand,  the  exultation  of  Philip  was  as 
keen  as  his  cold  and  stony  nature  would  permit.  The  mag- 
nificent palace-convent  of  the  Escurial,  dedicated  to  the  saint 


*  Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  496, 497.         f  Hoofd,  i.  9.         \  De  Thou,  iii.  160. 


184  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

on  whose  festival  the  battle  had  heen  fought,  and  built  in  the 
shape  of  the  gridiron,  on  which  that  martyr  had  suffered,  was 
soon  afterwards  erected  in  pious  commemoration  of  the  event.* 
Such  wras  the  celebration  of  the  victory.  The  reward  reserved 
for  the  victor  was  to  be  recorded  on  a  later  page  of  history. 

The  coldness  and  caution,  not  to  say  the  pusillanimity  of 
Philip,  prevented  him  from  seizing  the  golden  fruits  of  his 
triumph.  Ferdinand  Gonzaga  wished  the  blow  to  be  followed 
up  by  an  immediate  march  upon  Paris.f  Such  was  also  the 
feeling  of  all  the  distinguished  soldiers  of  the  age.  It  was 
unquestionably  the  opinion,  and  would  have  been  the  deed,  of 
Charles,  had  he  been  on  the  field  of  Saint  Quentin,  crippled  as 
he  was,  in  the  place  of  his  son.  He  could  not  conceal  his  rage 
and  mortification  when  he  found  that  Paris  had  not  fallen,  and 
is  said  to  have  refused  to  read  the  despatches  which  recorded 
that  the  event  had  not  been  consummated.^  There  was  cer- 
tainly little  of  the  conqueror  in  Philip's  nature ;  nothing 
which  would  have  led  him  to  violate  the  safest  principles  of 
strategy.  He  was  not  the  man  to  follow  up  enthusiastically 
the  blow  which  had  been  struck  ;  Saint  Quentin,  still  untaken, 
although  defended  by  but  eight  hundred  soldiers,  could  not  be 
left  behind  him  ;  Nevers  was  still  in  his  front,  and  although  it 
was  notorious  that  he  commanded  only  the  wreck  of  an  army, 
yet  a  new  one  might  be  collected,  perhaps,  in  time  to  embar- 
rass the  triumphant  march  to  Paris.  Out  of  his  superabundant 
discretion,  accordingly,  Philip  refused  to  advance  till  Saint 
Quentin  should  be  reduced. § 

Although  nearly  driven  to  despair  by  the  total  overthrow  of 
the  French  in  the  recent  action,  Coligny  still  held  bravely 
out,  being  well  aware  that  every  day  by  which  the  siege  could 
be  protracted  was  of  advantage  to   his  country.     Again  he 


*  Hoofd,  i.  9.  n       J  De  Thou,  iii.  162. 

\  Brantome,  i.  ii.  Hist,  du  Due  d'Albe,  ii.  140. — The  statement  is,  however, 
not  corroborated  by  the  contemporary  letters  of  Charles.  See  Gachard,  Retraite 
et  Mort  de  Charles  Quint,  i.  169,  sqq. — Compare  Stirling,  Cloister  Life,  121,  122. 

§  De  Thou,  iii.  162.     Hoofd,  i.  9. 


1557.]  ASSAULT   UPON   THE   CITY.  185 

made  fresh  attempts  to  introduce  men  into  the  city.  A 
fisherman  showed  him  a  submerged  path,  covered  several  feet 
deep  with  water,  through  which  he  succeeded  in  bringing 
one  hundred  and  fifty  unarmed  and  half-drowned  soldiers  into 
the  place.  His  garrison  consisted  barely  of  eight  hundred  men, 
but  the  siege  was  still  sustained,  mainly  by  his  courage  and 
sagacity,  and  by  the  spirit  of  his  brother  Andelot.  The 
company  of  cavalry,  belonging  to  the  Dauphin's  regiment, 
had  behaved  badly,  and  even  with  cowardice,  since  the  death 
of  their  commander  Teligny.  The  citizens  were  naturally 
weary  and  impatient  of  the  siege.  Mining  and  countermining 
continued  till  the  21st  August.  A  steady  cannonade  was  then 
maintained  until  the  27th.  Upon  that  day,  eleven  breaches 
having  been  made  in  the  walls,  a  simultaneous  assault  was 
ordered  at  four  of  them.  The  citizens  were  stationed  upon  the 
walls,  the  soldiers  in  the  breaches.  There  was  a  short  but  san- 
guinary contest,  the  garrison  resisting  with  uncommon  bravery. 
Suddenly  an  entrance  was  effected  through  a  tower  which  had 
been  thought  sufficiently  strong,  and  which  had  been  left 
unguarded.  Coligny,  rushing  to  the  spot,  engaged  the  enemy 
almost  single-handed.  He  was  soon  overpowered,  being 
attended  only  by  four  men  and  a  page,  was  made  a  prisoner 
by  a  soldier  named  Francisco  Diaz,  and  conducted  through 
one  of  the  subterranean  mines  into  the  presence  of  the  Duke 
of  Savoy,  from  whom  the  captor  received  ten  thousand  ducats 
in  exchange  for  the  Admiral's  sword.  The  fighting  still  con- 
tinued with  great  determination  in  the  streets,  the  brave 
Andelot  resisting  to  the  last.  He  was,  however,  at  last  over- 
powered, and  taken  prisoner.  Philip,  who  had,  as  usual, 
arrived  in  the  trenches  by  noon,  armed  in  complete  harness, 
with  a  page  carrying  his  helmet,  was  met  by  the  intelligence 
that  the  city  of  Saint  Quentin  was  his  own.* 

To  a  horrible  carnage  succeeded  a  sack  and  a  conflagration 
still  more  horrible.     In  every  house  entered  during  the  first 


*  Do    Thou,    iii.    164-111.      Hoofd,    i.  10.      Meteren,    1,    18.      Documentor 
Ineditos,  ix.  497-513. 


186  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

day,  every  human  being  was  butchered.  The  sack  lasted 
all  that  day  and  the  whole  of  the  following,  till  the  night 
of  the  28th.  There  was  not  a  soldier  who  did  not  obtain 
an  ample  share  of  plunder,  and  some  individuals  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  possession  of  two,  three,  and  even  twelve 
thousand  ducats  each.*  The  women  were  not  generally  out- 
raged, but  they  were  stripped  almost  entirely  naked,  lest  they 
should  conceal  treasure  which  belonged  to  their  conquerors, 
and  they  were  slashed  in  the  face  with  knives,  partly  in  sport, 
partly  as  a  punishment  for  not  giving  up  property  which  was 
not  in  their  possession.  The  soldiers  even  cut  off  the  arms 
of  many  among  these  wretched  women,f  and  then  turned 
them  loose,  maimed  and  naked,  into  the  blazing  streets  ;  for 
the  town,  on  the  28th,  was  fired  in  a  hundred  places,  and  was 
now  one  general  conflagration.  The  streets  were  already 
strewn  with  the  corpses  of  the  butchered  garrison  and  citizens  ; 
while  the  survivors  were  now  burned  in  their  houses.  Human 
heads,  limbs,  and  trunks,  were  mingled  among  the  bricks  and 
rafters  of  the  houses,  which  were  falling  on  every  side.J  The 
fire  lasted  day  and  night,  without  an  attempt  being  made  to 
extinguish  it  ;  while  the  soldiers  dashed  like  devils  through 
flame  and  smoke  in  search  of  booty.  Bearing  lighted  torches, 
they  descended  into  every  subterrranean  vault  and  receptacle, 
of  which  there  were  many  in  the  town,  and  in  every  one  of 
which  they  hoped  to  discover  hidden  treasure.§  The  work  of 
killing,  plundering,  and  burning  lasted  nearly  three  days  and 
nights.  The  streets,  meanwhile,  were  encumbered  with  heaps 
of  corpses,  not  a  single  one  of  which  had  been  buried  since 
the  capture  of  the  town.     The  remains  of  nearly  all  the  able- 


*  Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  513,  sqq. 

\  "  Y  porque  digesen  donde  tenian  los  dineros,  las  daban  cuchillados  por  cara 
y  cabeza  y  a  muchas  cortazon  los  brazos." — Ibid. 

\  Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  515.     "  quemaron  en  las  casas  gran  cantitad 

de  personas  y  muehas  dellas  se  vieron  despues  de  metado  el  fuego  entre  los 
ladrillos  que  de  ellos  son  hecbas  todas  las  mejores  casas,  muchas  cabezas  de 
hombres  quemados  y  huesos," 

§  Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  516. 


1557.]  CRUELTY   TO   THE   POPULATION,  187 

bodied  male  population,  dismembered,  gnawed  by  dogs,*  or 
blackened  by  fire,  polluted  the  midsummer  air.  The  women, 
meantime,  had  been  again  driven  into  the  cathedral,  where 
they  had  housed  during  the  siege,  and  where  they  now 
crouched  together  in  trembling  expectation  of  their  fate.f 
On  the  29th  August,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Philip  issued  an  order  that  every  woman,  without  an 
exception,  should  be  driven  out  of  the  city  into  the  French 
territory.!  Saint  Quentin,  which  seventy  years  before  had 
been  a  Flemish  town,  was  to  be  re-annexed,  and  not  a  single 
man,  woman,  or  child  who  could  speak  the  French  language 
was  to  remain  another  hour  in  the  place.  The  tongues  of 
the  men  had  been  effectually  silenced.  The  women,  to  the 
number  of  three  thousand  five  hundred,  were  now  compelled 
to  leave  the  cathedral  and  the  city.§  Some  were  in  a  starving 
condition  ;  others  had  been  desperately  wounded  ;  all,  as  they 
passed  through  the  ruinous  streets  of  what  had  been  their 
home,  were  compelled  to  tread  upon  the  unburied  remains  of 
their  fathers,  husbands,  or  brethren.  To  none  of  these 
miserable  creatures  remained  a  living  protector — hardly  even 
a  dead  body  which  could  be  recognized  ;  and  thus  the  ghastly 
procession  of  more  than  three  thousand  women,  many  with 
gaping  wounds  in  the  face,  many  with  their  arms  cut  off  and 
festering,  of  all  ranks  and  ages,  some  numbering  more  than 
ninety  years,  bareheaded,  with  grey  hair  streaming  upon  their 
shoulders  ;  others  with  nursing  infants  in  their  arms,  all 
escorted  by  a  company  of  heavy-armed  troopers,  left  forever 
their  native  city.  All  made  the  dismal  journey  upon  foot, 
save  that  carts  were  allowed  to  transport  the  children  between 
the  ages  of  two  and  six  years.||     The  desolation  and  depopu- 

*  " y  en  muchos  faltaban  los  pedazos  que  los  comian  los  perros  de  noehe, 

y  algTinos  olian  mal,"  etc.     Ibid. 

f  Documentos  Ineditos,  519,  sqq.  J   Ibid.  §  Ibid. 

|  "  Cierto  a  los  piadosos  hacia  demasiada  lastima  vellas  ir,  ver  3,500  mugeres. 
— Muchas  deilas  llevaban  cortados  los  brazos,  y  muches  con  cuchilladas. — 
Y  habia  entre  ellas  mugeres  de  mas  de  noventa  aiios,  sin  cofias  las  canas  de  fuera, 
llenas  de  sangre.  Las  que  daban  a  mamar  llevaban  sus  criaturas  en  sus  brazos," 
etc.,  etc. — Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  516. 


188  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1557. 

lation  were  now  complete.  "  I  wandered  through  the  place, 
gazing  at  all  this,"  says  a  Spanish  soldier  who  was  present, 
and  kept  a  diary  of  all  which  occurred,  "  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  it  was  another  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  What  most 
struck  me  was  to  find  not  a  single  denizen  of  the  town  left, 
who  was  or  who  dared  to  call  himself  French.  How  vain  and 
transitory,  thought  I,  are  the  things  of  this  world  !  Six  days 
ago  what  riches  were  in  the  city,  and  now  remains  not  one 
stone  upon  another."* 

The  expulsion  of  the  women  had  been  accomplished  by  the 
express  command  of  Philip,  who  moreover  had  made  no  effort 
to  stay  the  work  of  carnage,  pillage,  and  conflagration.  The 
pious  King  had  not  forgotten,  however,  his  duty  to  the  saints. 
As  soon  as  the  fire  had  broken  out,  he  had  sent  to  the 
cathedral,  whence  he  had  caused  the  body  of  Saint  Quentin  to 
be  removed  and  placed  in  the  royal  tent.f  Here  an  altar 
was  arranged,  upon  one  side  of  which  was  placed  the  coffin  of 
that  holy  personage,  and  upon  the  other  the  head  of  the 
"  glorious  Saint  Gregory"  (whoever  that  glorious  individual 
may  have  been  in  life),  together  with  many  other  relics 
brought  from  the  church. J  Within  the  sacred  enclosure 
many  masses  were  said  daily,  §  while  all  this  devil's  work  was 
going  on  without.  The  saint  who  had  been  buried  for 
centuries  was  comfortably  housed  and  guarded  by  the  monarch, 
while  dogs  were  gnawing  the  carcases  of  the  freshly-slain  men 
of  Saint  Quentin,  and  troopers  were  driving  into  perpetual 
exile  its  desolate  and  mutilated  women. 

The  most  distinguished  captives  upon  this  occasion  were, 
of  course,  Coligny  and  his  brother.  Andelot  was,  however, 
fortunate  enough  to  make  his  escape  that  night  under  the 
edge  of  the  tent  in  which  he  was  confined.  The  Admiral  was 
taken  to  Antwerp.  Here  he  lay  for  many  weeks  sick  with  a 
fever.  Upon  his  recovery,  having  no  better  pastime,  he  fell 
to  reading  the  Scriptures. ||     The  result  was  his  conversion  to 


*  Documentos  Ineditos,  ix.  519.  f  Ibid.  524.  %  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 

J  Meteren,  i.  18. 


1557-8.]  GUISE   AGAIN   IN   THE   FIELD.  189 

Calvinism,0  and  the  world  shudders  yet  at  the  fate  in  whicb 
that  conversion  involved  him. 

Saint  Quentin  being  thus  reduced,  Philip  was  not  more  dis- 
posed to  push  his  fortune.  The  time  was  now  wasted  in  the 
siege  of  several  comparatively  unimportant  places,  so  that  the 
fruits  of  Egmont's  valor  were  not  yet  allowed  to  ripen.  Early 
in  September  Le  Catelet  was  taken.  On  the  12th  of  the  same 
month  the  citadel  of  Ham  yielded,  after  receiving  two  thousand 
shots  from  Philip's  artillery,  while  Nojon,  Chanly,  and  some 
other  places  of  less  importance,  were  burned  to  the  ground 
After  all  tins  smoke  and  fire  upon  the  frontier,  productive  of 
but  slender  consequences,  Philip  disbanded  his  army,  and 
retired  to  Brussels.  He  reached  that  city  on  the  12th 
October.  The  English  returned  to  their  own  country. f  The 
campaign  of  1557  was  closed  without  a  material  result, 
and  the  victory  of  Saint  Quentin  remained  for  a  season 
barren. 

In  the  mean  time  the  French  were  not  idle.  The  army  of 
the  Constable  had  been  destroyed  but  the  Duke  cle  Guise,  who 
had  come  post-haste  from  Italy  after  hearing  the  news  of  Saint 
Quentin,  was  very  willing  to  organize  another.  He  was  burn- 
ing with  impatience  both  to  retrieve  his  own  reputation,  which 
had  suffered  some  little  damage  by  his  recent  Italian  campaign, 
and  to  profit  by  the  captivity  of  his  fallen  rival  the  Constable. 
During  the  time  occupied  by  the  languid  and  dilatory  pro- 
ceedings of  Philip  in  the  autumn,  the  Duke  had  accord- 
ingly recruited  in  France  and  Germany  a  considerable  army. 
In  January  (1558)  he  was  ready  to  take  the  field.  It  had 
been  determined  in  the  French  cabinet,  however,  not  tc 
attempt  to  win  back  the  places  which  they  had  lost  in  Picardy, 
but  to  carry  the  war  into  the  territory  of  the  ally.  It  was 
fated  that  England  should  bear  all  the  losses,  and  Philip 
appropriate  all  the  gain  and  glory,  which  resulted  from  their 
united  exertions.     It  was  the  war  of  the  Queen's  husband,  with 


*  Meteren,  f.  18  f  Hoofd,  i.  10.     Do  Thou,  iii.  171-17-1,  xix 


190  THE   RISE   OF  THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1558. 

which  the  Queen's  people  had  no  concern,  but  in  which  the 
last  trophies  of  the  Black  Prince  were  to  be  forfeited.  On 
the  first  January,  1558,  the  Due  de  Guise  appeared  before 
Calais.  The  Marshal  Strozzi  had  previously  made  an  expedi- 
tion, in  disguise,  to  examine  the  place.  The  result  of  his 
examination  was  that  the  garrison  was  weak,  and  that  it  relied 
too  much  upon  the  citadel.  After  a  tremendous  cannonade, 
which  lasted  a  week,  and  was  heard  in  Antwerp,  the  city  was 
taken  by  assault.*  Thus  the  key  to  the  great  Norman  portal 
of  France,  the  time-honored  key  which  England  had  worn  at- 
her  girdle  since  the  eventful  day  of  Crecy,  was  at  last  taken  from 
her.  Calais  had  been  originally  won  after  a  siege  which  had 
lasted  a  twelvemonth,  had  been  held  two  hundred  and  ten  years, 
and  was  now  lost  in  seven  days.  Seven  days  more,  and  ten  thou- 
sand discharges  from  thirty-five  great  guns  sufficed  for  the 
reduction  of  Guines.f  Thus  the  last  vestige  of  English 
dominion,  the  last  substantial  pretext  of  the  English  sovereign 
to  wear  the  title  and  the  lilies  of  France,  was  lost  forever. 
King  Henry  visited  Calais,  which  after  two  centuries  of 
estrangement  had  now  become  a  French  town  again,  appointed 
Paul  de  Thermes  governor  of  the  place,  and  then  returned  to 
Paris  to  celebrate  soon  afterwards  the  marriage  of  the  Dauphin 
with  the  niece  of  the  Guises,  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  £ 

These  events,  together  with  the  brief  winter  campaign  of 
the  Duke,  which  had  raised  for  an  instant  the  drooping  head 
of  France,  were  destined  before  long  to  give  a  new  lace  to 
affairs,  while  it  secured  the  ascendancy  of  the  Catholic  party 
in  the  kingdom.  Disastrous  eclipse  had  come  over  the  house 
of  Montmorency  and  Coligny,  while  the  star  of  Guise,  bril- 
liant with  the  conquest  of  Calais,  now  culminated^  to  the 
zenith. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  memorable  interview  between 
the  two  ecclesiastics,  the  Bishop  of  Arras  and  the  Cardinal  de 
Lorraine,   took  place   at   Peronne.     From  this  central   point 


*  Meteren,  i.  19.     De  Thou,  iii.  202-209,  xx.     Hoofd,  i  11.     Bor,  i.  16. 
f  Meteren,  De  Thou,  Hoofd,  Bor,  ubi  sup.  %  De  Thou,  iii.  214 


1558.]  INTERVIEW  AT  PERONNE.  191 

commenced  the  weaving  of  that  wide-spread  scheme,  in  which 
the  fate  of  millions  was  to  be  involved.  The  Duchess  Chris- 
tina de  Lorraine,  cousin  of  Philip,  had  accompanied  him  to 
Saint  Quentin.  Permission  had  been  obtained  by  the  Due  de 
Guise  and  his  brother,  the  Cardinal,  to  visit  her  at  Peronne. 
The  Duchess  was  accompanied  by  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  and 
the  consequence  was  a  full  and  secret  negotiation  between  the 
two  priests.*  It  may  be  supposed  that  Philip's  short-lived 
military  ardor  had  already  exhausted  itself.  He  had  mistaken 
his  vocation,  and  already  recognized  the  false  position  in  which 
he  was  placed.  He  was  contending  against  the  monarch  in 
whom  he  might  find  the  surest  ally  against  the  arch  enemy  of 
both  kingdoms,  and  of  the  world.  The  French  monarch  held 
heresy  in  horror,  while,  for  himself,  Philip  had  already  decided 
upon  his  life's  mission. 

The  crafty  Bishop  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  vain  and 
ambitious  Cardinal.  That  prelate  was  assured  that  Philip  con- 
sidered the  captivity  of  Coligny  and  Montmorency  a  special 
dispensation  of  Providence,  while  the  tutelar  genius  of  France, 
notwithstanding  the  reverses  sustained  by  that  kingdom,  was 
still  preserved.  The  Cardinal  and  his  brother,  it  was  sug- 
gested, now  held  in  their  hands  the  destiny  of  the  kingdom, 
and  of  Europe.  The  interests  of  both  nations,  of  religion, 
and  of  humanity,  made  it  imperative  upon  them  to  put  an  end 
to  this  unnatural  war,  in  order  that  the  two  monarchs  might 
unite  hand  and  heart  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy.  That 
hydra-headed  monster  had  already  extended  its  coils  through 
France,  while  its  pestilential  breath  was  now  wafted  into 
Flanders  from  the  German  as  well  as  the  French  border. 
Philip  placed  full  reliance  upon  the  wisdom  and  discretion  of 
the  Cardinal.  It  was  necessary  that  these  negotiations  should 
for  the  present  remain  a  profound  secret ;  but  in  the  mean 
time  a  peace  ought  to  be  concluded  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible  ;  a  result  which,  it  was  affirmed,  was  as  heartily  de- 
sired by  Philip  as  it  could  be  by  Henry.     The  Bishop  was  soon 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  223.     Hoofd,  i.  12. 


192  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1558. 

aware  of  the  impression  which  his  artful  suggestions  had  pro- 
duced. The  Cardinal,  inspired  by  the  flattery  thus  freely 
administered,  as  well  as  by  the  promptings  of  his  own  ambi- 
tion, lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  Bishop's  plans.*  Thus  was  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  vast  scheme,  which  time  was  to  complete. 
A  crusade  with  the  whole  strength  of  the  French  and  Spanish 
crowns,  was  resolved  upon  against  their  own  subjects.  The 
Bishop's  task  was  accomplished.  The  Cardinal  returned  to 
France,  determined  to  effect  a  peace  with  Spain.  He  was  con- 
vinced that  the  glory  of  his  house  was  to  be  infinitely  enhanced, 
and  its  power  impregnably  established,  by  a  cordial  co-operation 
with  Philip  in  his  dark  schemes  against  religion  and  humanity. 
The  negotiations  were  kept,  however,  profoundly  secret.  A 
new  campaign  and  fresh  humiliations  were  to  precede  the 
acceptance  by  France  of  the  peace  which  was  thus  proffered. 

Hostile  operations  were  renewed  soon  after  the  interview  at 
Peronne.  The  Duke  of  Guise,  who  had  procured  five  thousand 
cavalry  and  fourteen  thousand  infantry  in  Germany,f  now,  at 
the  desire  of  the  King,  undertook  an  enterprise  against  Thion- 
ville,^  a  city  of  importance  and  great  strength  in  Luxemburg, 
upon  the  river  Moselle.  It  was  defended  by  Peter  de 
Quarebbe,  a  gentleman  of  Louvain,  with  a  garrison  of  eighteen 
hundred  men.  On  the  5th  June,  thirty-five  pieces  of  artillery 
commenced  the  work  ;  the  mining  and  countermining  continuing 
seventeen  days  ;  on  the  22nd  the  assault  was  made,  and  the 
garrison  capitulated  immediately  afterwards.  §  It  was  a  siege 
conducted  in  a  regular  and  business-like  way,  but  the  details 
possess  no  interest.  It  was,  however,  signalized  by  the  death 
of  one  of  the  eminent  adventurers  of  the  age,  Marshal  Strozzi, 
This  brave,  but  always  unlucky  soldier  was  slain  by  a  musket 
I  ball  while  assisting  the  Duke  of  Guise — whose  arm  was,  at 
that  instant,  resting  upon  his  shoulder — to  point  a  gun  at  the 
fortress.  |J 

*  De  Thou,  iii.  223-227,  xx. 

f  Hoofd.  i.  12.  \  De  Thou,  iiL  229. 

§  De  Thou,  iii.  229-235.      Meteren,  i.  19.      Hoofd,  i.  12,  13„ 
|  Meteren,  i.  19 


1558.]  FORAY   OF   DE   THERMES.  193 

After  the  fall  of  Thionville,  the  Due  de  Guise,  for  a  short 
time,  contemplated  the  siege  of  the  city  of  Luxemburg,  hut 
contented  himself  with  the  reduction  of  the  unimportant 
places  of  Vireton  and  Arlon.  Here  he  loitered  seventeen  days, 
making  no  exertions  to  follow  up  the  success  which  had  attend- 
ed him  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  The  good  fortune  of 
the  French  was  now  neutralized  by  the  same  languor  which  had 
marked  the  movements  of  Philip  after  the  victory  of  Saint 
Quentin.  The  time,  which  might  have  been  usefully  employed 
in  following  up  his  success,  was  now  wasted  by  the  Duke  in 
trivial  business,  or  in  absolute  torpor.  This  may  have  been 
the  result  of  a  treacherous  understanding  with  Spain,  and  the 
first  fruits  of  the  interview  at  Peronne.  Whatever  the  cause, 
however,  the  immediate  consequences  were  disaster  to  the 
French  nation,  and  humiliation  to  the  crown. 

It  had  been  the  plan  of  the  French  cabinet  that  Mar- 
shal de  Thermes,  who,  upon  the  capture  of  Calais,  had  been 
appointed  governor  of  the  city,  should  take  advantage  of  his 
position  as  soon  as  possible.  Having  assembled  an  army  of 
some  eight  thousand  foot  and  fifteen  hundred  horse,* 
partly  Gascons  and  partly  Germans,  he  was  accordingly  di- 
rected to  ravage  the  neighboring  country,  particularly  the 
county  of  Saint  Pol.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Due  de  Guise, 
having  reduced  the  cities  on  the  southern  frontier,  was  to  move 
in  a  northerly  direction,  make  a  junction  with  the  Marshal, 
and  thus  extend  a  barrier  along  the  whole  frontier  of  the 
Netherlands. 

De  Thermes  set  forth  from  Calais,  in  the  beginning  of  June, 
with  liis  newly-organized  army.  Passing  by  Gravelines  and 
Bourbourg,  he  arrived  before  Dunkerk  on  the  2d  of  July. 
The  city,  which  was  without  a  garrison,  opened  negotiations, 
during  the  pendency  of  which  it  was  taken  by  assault  and  pil- 
laged. The  town  of  Saint  Winochsberg  shared  the  same  fate. 
De  Thermes,  who  was  a  martyr  to  the  gout,  was  obliged  at 


*  Bor,  i.  16.     Meteren,  i.   19.     Compare  Hoofd,   L  13;    De  Thou,   iii.   238; 
Liv.  xx. 

voi.  i.  13 


194  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1558. 

this  point  temporarily  to  resign  the  command  to  d'Estonteville, 
a  ferocious  soldier,  who  led  the  predatory  army  as  far  as  Niew- 
port,  burning,  killing,  ravishing,  plundering,  as  they  went. 
Meantime  Philip,  who  was  at  Brussels,  had  directed  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  to  oppose  the  Due  de  Guise  with  an  army 
which  had  been  hastily  collected  and  organized  at  Maubeuge, 
in  the  province  of  Namur.  He  now  desired,  if  possible,  to 
attack  and  cut  off  the  forces  of  De  Thermes  before  he  should 
extend  the  hand  to  Guise,  or  make  good  his  retreat  to  Calais. 

Flushed  with  victory  over  defenceless  peasants,  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  sacked  and  burning  towns,  the  army  of  De  Thermes 
was  already  on  its  homeward  march.  It  was  the  moment  for 
a  sudden  and  daring  blow.  Whose  arm  should  deal  it  ?  What 
general  in  Philip's  army  possessed  the  requisite  prompt- 
ness, and  felicitous  audacity  ;  who,  but  the  most  brilliant  of 
cavalry  officers,  the  bold  and  rapid  hero  of  St.  Quentin  ? 
Egmont,  in  obedience  to  the  King's  command,  threw  himself 
at  once  into  the  field.  He  hastily  collected  all  the  available 
forces  in  the  neighborhood.  These,  with  drafts  from  th6 
Duke  of  Savoy's  army,  and  with  detachments  under  Marshal 
Bignicourt  from  the  garrisons  of  Saint  Omer,  Bethune,  Aire, 
and  Bourbourg,  soon  amounted  to  ten  thousand  foot  and  two 
thousand  horse.*  His  numbers  were  still  further  swollen  by 
large  bands  of  peasantry,  both  men  and  women,  maddened  by 
their  recent  injuries,  and  thirsting  for  vengeance.  With  these 
troops  the  energetic  chieftain  took  up  his  position  directly  in 
the  path  of  the  French  army.  Determined  to  destroy  De 
Thermes  with  all  his  force,  or  to  sacrifice  himself,  he  posted 
his  army  at  Gravelines,  a  small  town  lying  near  the  sea-shore, 
and  about  midway  between  Calais  and  Dunkerk.  The  French 
general  was  putting  the  finishing  touch  to  his  expedition  by 
completing  the  conflagration  at  Dunkerk,  and  was  moving 
homeward,  when  he  became  aware  of  the  lion  in  his  path. 
Although  suffering  from  severe  sickness,  he  mounted  his  horse 
and  personally  conducted  his  army  to  Gravelines.     Here  he 


*  Meteren,  i.  19.     Compare  De  Thou,  iii.  239,  xx. ;  Bor,  i.  16 ;  Hoofd,  L  14. 


1558.]  BATTLE  OF  GRAYELINES.  195 

found  his  progress  completely  arrested.  On  that  night,  which 
was  the  12th  July,  he  held  a  council  of  officers.  It  was  de- 
termined to  refuse  the  combat  offered,  and,  if  possible,  to 
escape  at  low  tide  alcng  the  sands  toward  Calais.  The  next 
morning  he  crossed  the  river  Aa,  below  Gravelines.  Egmont, 
who  was  not  the  man,  on  that  occasion  at  least,  to  build  a 
golden  bridge  for  a  flying  enemy,  crossed  the  same  stream  just 
above  the  town,  and  drew  up  his  whole  force  in  battle  array. 
De  Thermes  could  no  longer  avoid  the  conflict  thus  resolutely 
forced  upon  him.  Courage  was  now  his  only  counsellor.  Being 
not  materially  outnumbered  by  his  adversaries,  he  had,  at  least, 
an  even  chance  of  cutting  his  way  through  all  obstacles,  and  of 
saving  his  army  and  Ins  treasure.  The  sea  was  on  his  right 
hand,  the  Aa  behind  him,  the  enemy  in  front.  He  piled  his 
baggage  and  wagons  so  as  to  form  a  barricade  upon  his  left, 
and  placed  his  artillery,  consisting  of  four  culverines  and  three 
falconets,  in  front.  Behind  these  he  drew  up  his  cavalry,  sup- 
ported at  each  side  by  the  Gascons,  and  placed  his  French  and 
German  infantry  in  the  rear. 

Egmont,  on  the  other  hand,  divided  his  cavalry  into  five 
squadrons.  Three  of  light  horse  were  placed  in  advance  for 
the  first  assault — the  centre  commanded  by  himself,  the  two 
wings  by  Count  Pontenals  and  Henrico  Henriquez.  The  black 
hussars  of  Lazarus  Schwendi  and  the  Flemish  gendarmes 
came  next.  Behind  these  was  the  infantry,  divided  into  three 
nations,  Spanish,  German,  and  Flemish,  and  respectively  com- 
manded by  Carvajal,  Munchausen,  and  Bignicourt.  Egmont, 
having  characteristically  selected  the  post  of  danger  in  the 
very  front  of  battle  for  himself,  could  no  longer  restrain 
his  impatience.  "  The  foe  is  ours  already,"  he  shouted ; 
"follow  me,  all  who  love  their  fatherland."  With  that  he  set 
spurs  to  his  horse,  and  having  his  own  regiment  well  in  hand, 
dashed  upon  the  enemy.  The  Gascons  received  the  charge 
with  coolness,  and — under  cover  of  a  murderous  fire  from  the 
artillery  in  front,  which  mowed  down  the  foremost  ranks  of 
their  assailants — sustained  the  whole  weight  of  the  first  onset 
without  flinching.     Egmont's  horse  was   shot  under  him  at 


196  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1553. 

the  commencement  of  the  action.  Mounting  another,  he  again 
cheered  his  cavalry  to  the  attack.  The  Gascons  still  main- 
tained an  unwavering  front,  and  fought  with  characteristic 
ferocity.  The  courage  of  despair  inflamed  the  French,  the  hope 
of  a  brilliant  and  conclusive  victory  excited  the  Spaniards 
and  Flemings.  It  was  a  wild,  hand  to  hand  conflict — general 
and  soldier,  cavalier  and  pikeman,  lancer  and  musketeer, 
mingled  together  in  one  dark,  confused,  and  struggling  mass, 
foot  to  foot,  breast  to  breast,  horse  to  horse — a  fierce,  tumultu- 
ous battle  on  the  sands,  worthy  the  fitful  pencil  of  the  national 
painter,  Wouvermans.  For  a  long  time  it  was  doubtful  on 
which  side  victory  was  to  incline,  but  at  last  ten  English 
vessels  unexpectedly  appeared  in  the  offing,  and  ranging  up 
soon  afterwards  as  close  to  the  shore  as  was  possible,  opened 
their  fire  upon  the  still  unbroken  lines  of  the  French.  The 
ships  were  too  distant,  the  danger  of  injuring  friend  as  well  as 
foe  too  imminent,  to  allow  of  their  exerting  any  important 
influence  upon  the  result.  The  spirit  of  the  enemy  was  broken, 
however,  by  this  attack  upon  their  seaward  side,  which  they 
had  thought  impregnable.  At  the  same  time,  too,  a  detach- 
ment of  German  cavalry  which  had  been  directed  by  Egmont 
to  make  their  way  under  the  downs  to  the  southward,  now 
succeeded  in  turning  their  left  flank.  Egmont,  profiting  by 
their  confusion,  charged  them  again  with  redoubled  vigor. 
The  fate  of  the  day  was  decided.  The  French  cavalry  wavered, 
broke  their  ranks,  and  in  their  flight  carried  dismay  through- 
out the  whole  army.  The  rout  was  total ;  horse  and  foot. 
French,  Gascon,  and  German  fled  from  the  field  together. 
Fifteen  hundred  fell  in  the  action,  as  many  more  were  driven 
into  the  sea,  while  great  numbers  were  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
exasperated  peasants,  who  now  eagerly  washed  out  their  recent 
injuries  in  the  blood  of  the  dispersed,  wandering,  and  wound- 
ed soldiers.*  The  army  of  De  Thermes  was  totally  destroyed, 
and  with  it,  the  last  hope  of  France  for  an  honorable  and 


*  Meteren,  i.  19.    Hoofd,  i.  13,  14,  15.     Bor,  i.  16,  17.     Compare  Cabrera,  iv. 
21;  DeThou,  iii.  231-24L 


1558.]  SPLENDID   TRIUMPH.  197 

equal  negotiation.  She  was  now  at  Philip's  feet,  so  that  this 
brilliant  cavalry  action,  although  it  has  been  surpassed  in  im- 
portance by  many  others,  in  respect  to  the  numbers  of  the  com- 
batants and  the  principles  involved  in  the  contest,  was  still, 
in  regard  to  the  extent  both  of  its  immediate  and  its  per- 
manent results,  one  of  the  most  decisive  and  striking  which 
have  ever  been  fought.  The  French  army  engaged  was  anni- 
hilated. Marshal  de  Thermes,  with  a  wound  in  the  head, 
Senarpont,  Annibault,  Villefon,  Morvilliers,  Chanlis,  and  many 
others  of  high  rank  were  prisoners.  The  French  monarch 
had  not  much  heart  to  set  about  the  organization  of 
another  army  ;*  a  task  which  he  was  now  compelled  to  under- 
take. He  was  soon  obliged  to  make  the  best  terms  which  he 
could,  and  to  consent  to  a  treaty  which  was  one  of  the  most 
ruinous  in  the  archives  of  France. 

The  Marshal  de  Thermes  was  severely  censured  for  having 
remained  so  long  at  Dunkerk  and  in  its  neighborhood.  He 
was  condemned  still  more  loudly  for  not  having  at  least 
effected  his  escape  beyond  Gravelines,  during  the  night  winch 
preceded  the  contest.  With  regard  to  the  last  charge,  how- 
ever, it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  any  nocturnal  attempt 
would  have  been  likely  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  Egmont. 
With  regard  to  his  delay  at  Dunkerk,  it  was  asserted  that  he 
had  been  instructed  to  await  in  that  place  the  junction  with 
the  Due  de  Guise,  which  had  been  previously  arranged.f  But 
for  the  criminal  and,  then,  inexplicable  languor  which 
characterized  that  commander's  movements,  after  the  capture 
of  Thionville,  the  honor  of  France  might  still  have  been 
saved. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  faults  of  De  Thermes  or  of 
Guise,  there  could  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  merit  of  Egmont. 
Thus  within  eleven  months  of  the  battle  of  Saint  Quentin, 
had  the  Dutch  hero  gained  another  victory  so  decisive  as  to 
settle  the  fate  of  the  war,  and  to  elevate  his  sovereign  to  a 
position   from  which   he   might  dictate    the   terms  of  a   tri- 


*  De  Thou,  id.  241,  xx.  f  Moofd,  i.  15.     De  Thou,  ubi  sap. 


198  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1558. 

umpliant  peace.*  The  opening  scenes  of  Philip's  reign  were 
rendered  as  brilliant  as  the  proudest  days  of  the  Emperor's 
career,  while  the  provinces  were  enraptured  with  the  prospect  of 
early  peace.  To  whom,  then,  was  the  sacred  debt  of  national 
and  royal  gratitude  due  but  to  Lamoral  of  Egmont  ?  His 
countrymen  gladly  recognized  the  claim.  He  became  the  idol 
of  the  army  ;  the  familiar  hero  of  ballad  and  story ;  the 
mirror  of  chivalry,  and  the  god  of  popular  worship.  Through- 
out the  Netherlands  he  was  hailed  as  the  right  hand  of  the 
fatherland,  the  saviour  of  Flanders  from  devastation  and  out- 
rage, the  protector  of  the  nation,  the  pillar  of  the  throne.f 

The  victor  gained  many  friends  by  his  victory,  and  one 
enemy.  The  bitterness  of  that  foe  was  likely,  in  the  future,  to 
outweigh  all  the  plaudits  of  his  friends.  The  Duke  of  Alva 
had  strongly  advised  against  giving  battle  to  De  Thermes. 
He  depreciated  the  triumph  after  it  had  been  gained,  by 
reflections  upon  the  consequences  which  would  have  flowed,  had 
a  defeat  been  suffered  instead.^  He  even  held  this  language 
to  Egmont  himself  after  his  return  to  Brussels.  The  con- 
queror, flushed  with  his  glory,  was  not  inclined  to  digest  the 
criticism,  nor  what  he  considered  the  venomous  detraction  of 
the  Duke.  More  vain  and  arrogant  than  ever,  he  treated  his 
powerful  Spanish  rival  with  insolence,  and  answered  his  ob- 
servations with  angiy  sarcasms,  even  in  the  presence  of  the 
King.§  Alva  was  not  likely  to  forget  the  altercation,  nor  to 
forgive  the  triumph. 

There  passed,  naturally,  much  bitter  censure  and  retort  on 
both  sides  at  court,  between  the  friends  and  adherents  of 
Egmont  and  those  who  sustained  the  party  of  his  adversary. 
The  battle  of  Gravelines  was  fought  over  daily,  amid  increasing 
violence  and  recrimination,  between   Spaniard  and  Fleming, 


*  Hoofd.  De  Thou,  ubi  sup.  t  Hoofd,  i.  15. 

%  Meteren,  i.  19.     Bor,  i.  IT.     Hoofd,  i.  15. 

§  " et  provenoit  la  ditto  ennemitie  pnncipalement  a  cause  de  la  Bataille 

de  Grevelinge,  qu'il  donna  contra  son  advis  et  propos  haultains  et  superbes  qu'il 
(Egmont)  lui  tint  estant  de  retour  victorieux  en  la  ville  de  Bruxelles  en  la  pre- 
sence du  Roy."— Pontus  Payen  MS.,  378,  379- 


1558.]  SPANISH  CAVILS.  199 

and  the  old  international  hatred  flamed  more  fiercely  than 
ever.  Alva  continued  to  censure  the  foolhardiness  which  had 
risked  so  valuable  an  army  on  a  single  blow.  Egmont's  friends 
replied  that  it  was  easy  for  foreigners,  who  had  nothing  at 
risk  in  the  country,  to  look  on  while  the  fields  of  the  Nether- 
lands were  laid  waste,  and  the  homes  and  hearths  of  an  indus- 
trious population  made  desolate,  by  a  brutal  and  rapacious 
soldiery.  They  who  dwelt  in  the  Provinces  would  be  ever 
grateful  to  their  preserver  for  the  result.*  They  had  no  eyes 
for  the  picture  which  the  Spanish  party  painted  of  an  imagin- 
ary triumph  of  De  Thermes  and  its  effects.  However  the 
envious  might  cavil,  now  that  the  blow  had  been  struck,  the 
popular  heart  remained  warm  as  ever,  and  refused  to  throw 
down  the  idol  which  had  so  recently  been  set  up. 


*  Meteren,  Bor,  Hoofd,  ubi  sup. 


CHAPTER    III. 


Secret  negotiations  for  peace — Two  fresh  armies  assembled,  but  inactive — Ne- 
gotiations at  Cercamp — Death  of  Mary  Tudor — Treaty  of  Cateau  Cam- 
bresis — Death  of  Henry  II. — Policy  of  Catharine  de  Medici — Revelations 
by  Henry  II.  to  the  Prince  of  Orange — Funeral  of  Charles  V.  in  Brussels — 
Universal  joy  in  the  Netherlands  at  the  restoration  of  peace — Organization 
of  the  government  by  Philip,  and  preparations  for  his  departure — Appoint- 
ment of  Margaret  of  Parma  as  Regent  of  the  Netherlands — Three  councils 
— The  consulta — The  stadholders  of  the  different  provinces — Dissatisfac- 
tion caused  by  the  foreign  troops — Assembly  of  the  Estates  at  Ghent  to 
receive  the  parting  instructions  and  farewell  of  the  King — Speech  of  the 
Bishop  of  Arras — Request  for  three  millions — Fierce  denunciation  of 
heresy  on  the  part  of  Philip — Strenuous  enforcement  of  the  edicts  com- 
manded— Reply  by  the  States  of  Arthois — Unexpected  conditions — Rage 
of  the  King — Similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  other  provinces — Remon- 
strance in  the  name  of  States-General  against  the  foreign  soldiery — Formal 
reply  on  the  part  of  the  crown — Departure  of  the  King  from  the  Nether- 
lands— Autos-da-fe  in  Spain. 

The  battle  of  Gravelines  had  decided  the  question.  The 
intrigues  of  the  two  Cardinals  at  Peronne  having  been  sus- 
tained by  Egniont's  victory,  all  parties  were  ready  for  a  peace. 
King  Henry  was  weary  of  the  losing  game  which  he  had  so 
long  been  playing,  Philip  was  anxious  to  relieve  himself  from 
his  false  position,  and  to  concentrate  his  whole  mind  and  the 
strength  of  his  kingdom  upon  his  great  enemy  the  Netherland 
heresy,  while  the  Duke  of  Savoy  felt  that  the  time  had  at  last 
arrived  when  an  adroit  diplomacy  might  stand  him  in  stead, 
and  place  him  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  rights  which  the 
sword  had  taken  from  him,  and  which  his  own  sword  had 
done  so  much  towards  winning  back.  The  sovereigns  were 
inclined  to  peace,  and  as  there  had  never  been  a  national 
principle  or  instinct  or  interest  involved  in  the  dispute,  it  was 


1558.]  TWO   GREAT   ARMIES  INACTIVE,  201 

very  certain  that  peace  would  be  popular  every  where,  upon 
whatever  terms  it  might  be  concluded. 

Montmorency  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  were  respectively 
empowered  to  open  secret  negotiations.*  The  Constable 
entered  upon  the  task  with  alacrity,  because  he  felt  that  every 
day  of  his  captivity  was  alike  prejudicial  to  his  own  welfare  and 
the  interests  of  his  country,  f  The  Guises,  who  had  quarrelled 
with  the  Duchess  de  Valentinois  (Diane  de  Poitiers),  were  not 
yet  powerful  enough  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  mistress  ; 
while,  rather  to  baffle  them  than  from  any  loftier  reasons,  that 
interest  was  exerted  in  behalf  of  immediate  peace.  The  Car- 
dinal de  Lorraine  had  by  no  means  forgotten  the  eloquent  ar- 
guments used  by  the  Bishop  of  Arras  ;  but  his  brother,  the 
Due  de  Guise,  may  be  supposed  to  have  desired  some  little 
opportunity  of  redeeming  the  credit  of  the  kingdom,  and  to 
have  delayed  the  negotiations  until  his  valor  could  secure  a 
less  inglorious  termination  to  the  war. 

A  fresh  army  had,  in  fact,  been  collected  under  his  com- 
mand, and  was  already  organized  at  Pierrepoint.  At  the 
same  time,  Philip  had  assembled  a  large  force,  consisting  of 
thirty  thousand  foot  and  fifteen  thousand  cavalry,  with  which 
he  had  himself  taken  the  field,  encamping  towards  the  middle 
of  August  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  Anthies,  near  the  bor- 
der of  Picardy.|  King  Henry,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
already  arrived  in  the  camp  at  Pierrepoint,  and  had  reviewed 
as  imposing  an  army  as  had  ever  been  at  the  disposal  of  a 
French  monarch.  When  drawn  up  in  battle  array  it  covered 
a  league  and  a  half  of  ground,  while  three  hours  were  required 
to  make  its  circuit  on  horseback.§  All  this  martial  display 
was  only  for  effect.  The  two  kings,  at  the  head  of  their 
great  armies,  stood  looking  at  each  other  while  the  negotia- 
tions for  peace  were  proceeding.  An  unimportant  skirmish 
or  two  at  the  out-posts,  unattended  with  loss  of  life,  were  the 


*  Apologie  du  P.  d'Orange,  49.  f  De  Thou,  iii.  246,  xx. 

%  Bor,  i.  IT.      Hoofd,  i.  16.      Meteren,  i.  20. 
§  De  Thou,  iii.  244,  xx. 


202  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1558-9. 

only  military  results  of  these  great  preparations.  Early  in 
the  autumn,  all  the  troops  were  disbanded,  while  the  com- 
missioners of  both  crowns  met  in  open  congress  at  the  abbey 
of  Cercamp,  near  Cambray,  by  the  middle  of  October.  The 
envoys  on  the  part  of  Philip  were  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  Euy  Gomez  de  Silva,  the 
president  Viglius  ;  on  that  of  the  French  monarch,  the 
Constable,  the  Marshal  de  Saint  Andre,  the  Cardinal  de 
Lorraine,  the  Bishop  of  Orleans,  and  Claude  TAubespine.* 
There  were  also  envoys  sent  by  the  Queen  of  England,  but  as 
the  dispute  concerning  Calais  was  found  to  hamper  the 
negotiations  at  Cercamp,  the  English  question  was  left 
to  be  settled  by  another  congress,  and  was  kept  entirely 
separate  from  the  arrangements  concluded  between  France 
and  Spain.f 

The  death  of  Queen  Mary,  on  the  17th  November,^ 
caused  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  proceedings.  After  the 
widower,  however,  had  made  a  fruitless  effort  to  obtain  the 
hand  of  her  successor,  and  had  been  unequivocally  repulsed,§ 
the  commissioners  again  met  in  February,  1559,  at  Cateau 
Cambresis.  The  English  difficulty  was  now  arranged  by 
separate  commissioners,  and  on  the  third  of  April  a  treaty 
between  France  and  Spain  was  concluded. || 

By  this  important  convention,  both  kings  bound  themselves 
to  maintain  the  Catholic  worship  inviolate  by  all  means  in 
their  power,  and  agreed  that  an  oecumenical  council  should  at 
once  assemble,  to  compose  the  religious  differences,  and  to 
extinguish  the  increasing  heresy  in  both  kingdoms.  Further- 
more, it  was  arranged  that  the  conquests  made  by  each 
country  during  the  preceding  eight  years  should  be  restored. 
Thus  all  the  gains  of  Francis  and  Henry  were  annulled 
by  a  single  word,  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  converted,  by  a  dash 
of  the  pen,  from  a  landless  soldier  of  fortune  into  a  sovereign 


*  Bor,  Hoofd,  Meteren,  ubi  sup.     De  Thou,  iii.  250,  xx. 

f  Ibid.  %  Ibid.  ibid. 

§  De  Thou,  iii.  254,  |  Bor,  Meteren,  Hoofd,  De  Thou. 


1559.]         TREATY  OF  CATEAU  CAMBRESIS.  203 

again.  He  was  to  receive  back  all  his  estates,  and  was  more- 
over  to  marry  Henry's  sister  Margaret,  with  a  dowry  of  three 
hundred  thousand  crowns.  Philip,  on  the  other  hand,  now  a 
second  time  a  widower,  was  to  espouse  Henry's  daughter 
Isabella,  already  betrothed  to  the  Infant  Don  Carlos,  and  to 
receive  with  her  a  dowry  of  four  hundred  thousand  crowns. 
The  restitutions  were  to  be  commenced  by  Henry,  and  to  be 
completed  within  three  months.  Philip  was  to  restore  his 
conquests  in  the  course  of  a  month  afterwards. 

Most  of  the  powers  of  Europe  were  included  by  both  parties 
in  this  treaty :  the  Pope,  the  Emperor,  all  the  Electors,  the 
republics  of  Venice,  Genoa  and  Switzerland,  the  kingdoms  of 
England,  Scotland,  Poland,  Denmark,  Sweden ;  the  duchies 
of  Ferrara,  Savoy  and  Parma,  besides  other  inferior  princi- 
palities. Nearly  all  Christendom,  in  short,  was  embraced  in 
this  most  amicable  compact,  as  if  Philip  were  determined 
that,  henceforth  and  forever,  Calvinists  and  Mahometans, 
Turks  and  Flemings,  should  be  his  only  enemies. 

The  King  of  France  was  to  select  four  hostages  from  among 
Philip's  subjects,  to  accompany  him  to  Paris  as  pledges  for  the 
execution  of  all  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  The  royal  choice  fell 
upon  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the  Duke  of  Alva,  the  Duke  of 
Aerschot,  and  the  Count  of  Egmont. 

Such  was  the  treaty  of  Cateau  Cambresis.*  Thus  was  a 
termination  put  to  a  war  between  France  and  Spain,  which 
had  been  so  wantonly  undertaken. 

Marshal  Monluc  wrote  that  a  treaty  so  disgraceful  and  dis- 
astrous had  never  before  been  ratified  by  a  French  monarch.f 
It  would  have  been  difficult  to  point  to  any  one  more  unfor- 
tunate upon  her  previous  annals  ;  if  any  treaty  can  be  called 
unfortunate,  by  which  justice  is  done  and  wrongs  repaired,  even 
under  coercion.  The  accumulated  plunder  of  years,  which  was 
now  disgorged  by  France,  was  equal  in  value  to  one  third  of 
that  kingdom.     One  hundred  and  ninety-eight  fortified  towns 


*  De  Thou,  iii.  350-355.      Hoofd,  i.  19,  20.      Bor,  L   17,  18.      Heteren,  i.  23 
f  De  Thou.     Meursii  GuHelmus  Auriacus  (Leyd.,  1621),  p.  6. 


204  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

were  surrendered,  making,  with  other  places  of  greater  or  less 
importance,  a  total  estimated  by  some  writers  as  high  as  four 
hundred.*  The  principal  gainer  was  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  who, 
after  so  many  years  of  knight-errantry,  had  regained  his  duchy, 
and  found  himself  the  brother-in-law  of  his  ancient  enemy. 

The  well-known  tragedy  by  which  the  solemnities  of  this 
pacification  were  abruptly  concluded  in  Paris,  bore  with  it  an 
impressive  moral.  The  monarch  who,  in  violation  of  his 
plighted  word  and  against  the  interests  of  his  nation  and  the 
world,  had  entered  precipitately  into  a  causeless  war,  now  lost 
his  life  in  fictitious  combat  at  the  celebration  of  peace.  On  the 
tenth  of  July,  Henry  the  Second  died  of  the  wound  inflicted 
by  Montgomery  in  the  tournament  held  eleven  days  before.f 
Of  this  weak  and  worthless  prince,  all  that  even  his  flatterers 
could  favorably  urge  was  his  great  fondness  for  war,  as  if  a 
sanguinary  propensity,  even  when  unaccompanied  by  a  sjiark 
of  military  talent,  were  of  itself  a  virtue.  Yet,  with  his  death 
the  kingdom  fell  even  into  more  pernicious  hands,  and  the  fate 
of  Christendom  grew  darker  than  ever.  The  dynasty  of  Diane 
de  Poitiers  was  succeeded  by  that  of  Catharine  de  Medici ;  the 
courtesan  gave  place  to  the  dowager  ;  and  France — during  the 
long  and  miserable  period  in  which  she  lay  bleeding  in  the 
grasp  of  the  Italian  she-wolf  and  her  litter  of  cowardly  and 
sanguinary  princes — might  even  lament  the  days  of  Henry  and 
his  Diana.  Charles  the  Ninth,  Henry  the  Third,  Francis  of 
Alengon,  last  of  the  Valois  race — how  large  a  portion  of  the 
fearful  debt  which  has  not  yet  been  discharged  by  half  a  century 
of  revolution  and  massacre  was  of  their  accumulation  ! 

The  Duchess  of  Valentinois  had  quarrelled  latterly  with  the 
house  of  Guise,  and  was  disposed  to  favor  Montmorency.  The 
King,  who  was  but  a  tool  in  her  hands,  might  possibly  have 
been  induced,  had  he  lived,  to  regard  Coligny  and  his  friends 
with  less  aversion.  This  is,  however,  extremely  problematical, 
for  it  was  Henry  the  Second  who  had  concluded  that  memor- 


*  Hoofd,  i.  20.     De  Thou,  iii.  20.      Joan.  Meursii  Gul.  Aur.,  p.  6. 
f  De  Thou,  iii.  367. 


1559.]  OBSEQUIES    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  205 

able  arrangement  with  his  royal  brother  of  Spain,  to  arrange 
for  the  Huguenot  chiefs  throughout  both  realms,  a  "  Sicilian 
Vespers/'  upon  the  first  favorable  occasion.  His  death  and  the 
subsequent  policy  of  the  Queen-Regent  deferred  the  execution 
of  the  great  scheme  till  fourteen  years  later.  Henry  had  lived 
long  enough,  however,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  secret  agree- 
ment to  reveal  it  to  one  whose  life  was  to  be  employed  in 
thwarting  this  foul  conspiracy  of  monarchs  against  their  sub- 
jects. William  of  Orange,  then  a  hostage  for  the  execution  of 
the  treaty  of  Cateau  Cambresis,  was  the  man  with  whom  the 
King  had  the  unfortunate  conception  to  confer  on  the  subject 
of  the  plot.*  The  Prince,  who  had  already  gained  the  esteem 
of  Charles  the  Fifth  by  his  habitual  discretion,  knew  how  to 
profit  by  the  intelligence  and  to  bide  his  time ;  but  his  hostility 
to  the  policy  of  the  French  and  Spanish  courts  was  perhaps 
dated  from  that  hour.f 

Pending  the  peace  negotiations,  Philip  had  been  called  upon 
to  mourn  for  his  wife  and  father.  He  did  not  affect  grief  for 
the  death  of  Mary  Tudor,  but  he  honored  the  Emperor's  depart- 
ure with  stately  obsequies  at  Brussels.  The  ceremonies  lasted 
two  days  (the  29th  and  30th  December,  1558).  In  the  grand 
and  elaborate  procession  which  swept  through  the  streets  upon 
the  first  day,  the  most  conspicuous  object  was  a  ship  floating 
apparently  upon  the  waves,  and  drawn  by  a  band  of  Tritons 
who  disported  at  the  bows.  The  masts,  shrouds,  and  sails  of 
tne  vessel  were  black,  it  was  covered  with  heraldic  achieve- 
ments, banners  and  emblematic  mementos  of  the  Emperor's 
various  expeditions,  while  the  flags  of  Turks  and  Moors  trailed 
from  her  sides  in  the  waves  below.  Three  allegorical  per- 
sonages composed  the  crew.  Hope,  "all  clothyd  in  broAvn, 
with  anker  in  hand,"  stood  at  the  prow ;  Faith,  with  sacra- 
mental chalice  and  red  cross,  clad  in  white  garment,  with  her 
face  vailed  "  with  white  tiffany,"  sat  on  a  "  stool  of  estate" 
before  the  mizen-mast  ;  while  Charity  "  in  red,  holding  in  her 
hand  a  burning  heart,"   was   at   the   helm   to  navigate  the 


Apologie  d'Orango,  53,  54.  f  Ibid. 


206  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   KEPUBLIC.  [1559. 

vessel.*  Hope,  Faith,  and  Love  were  thought  the  most  ap- 
propriate symbols  for  the  man  who  had  invented  the  edicts, 
introduced  the  inquisition,  and  whose  last  words,  inscribed  by 
a  hand  already  trembling  with  death,  had  adjured  his  son,  by 
his  love,  allegiance,  and  hope  of  salvation,  to  deal  to  all  heretics 
the  extreme  rigor  of  the  law,  "  without  respect  of  persons  and 
without  regard  to  any  plea  in  their  favor/'f 

The  rest  of  the  procession,  in  which  marched  the  Duke  of 
Alva,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  other  great  personages,  car- 
rying the  sword,  the  globe,  the  sceptre,  and  the  "  crown  im- 
perial," contained  no  emblems  or  imagery  worthy  of  being 
recorded.  The  next  day  the  King,  dressed  in  mourning  and 
attended  by  a  solemn  train  of  high  officers  and  nobles,  went 
again  to  the  church.  A  contemporary  letter  mentions  a  some- 
what singular  incident  as  forming  the  concluding  part  of  the 
ceremony.  "  And  the  service  being  done,"  wrote  Sir  Eichard 
Clough  to  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  "  there  went  a  nobleman  into 
the  herse  (so  far  as  I  colde  under  stande,  it  ivas  the  Prince  of 
Orange),  who,  standing  before  the  herse,  struck  with  his  hand 
upon  the  chest  and  sayd,  '  He  is  ded.'  Then  standing  styll 
awhile,  he  sayd,  '  He  shall  remayn  ded.'  And  then  resting 
awhile,  he  struck  again  and  sayd,  '  He  is  ded,  and  there  is 
another  rysen  up  in  his  place  greater  than  ever  he  was/ 
Whereupon  the  Kynge's  hoode  was  taken  off  and  the  Kynge 
went  home  without  his  hoode."J 

If  the  mourning  for  the  dead  Emperor  was  but  a  mummery 
and  a  masquerade,  there  was,  however,  heartiness  and  sincerity 
in  the  rejoicing  which  now  burst  forth  like  a  sudden  illumi- 
nation throughout  the  Netherlands,  upon  the  advent  of  peace. 
All  was  joy  in  the  provinces,  but  at  Antwerp,  the  metropolis 
of  the  land,  the  enthusiasm  was  unbounded.  Nine  days  were 
devoted  to  festivities.     Bells  rang  their  merriest  peals,  artillery 


*  Hoofd,  i.  18.     De  Thou,  iii.  xx.     Brantome.  (Euvres,  i.  35-38.     Sir  Richard 
Clough's  Letter  to  Sir  T.  Gresham  in  Burgon's  Life  and  Times,  i.  247-254 
f  Stirling.     Cloister  Life  of  Charles  V.  (Lond.,  1853),  217. 
X  Burgon,  i.  254. 


1559.]  EEJOICIXGS   AT   ANTWEEP.  207 

thundered,  beacons  blazed,  the  splendid  cathedral  spire  flamed 
nightly  with  three  hundred  burning  cressets,  the  city  was 
strewn  with  flowers  and  decorated  with  triumphal  arches,  the 
Guilds  of  Rhetoric  amazed  the  world  with  their  gorgeous  pro- 
cessions, glittering  dresses  and  bombastic  versification,  the 
burghers  all,  from  highest  to  humblest,  were  feasted  and  made 
merry,  wine  flowed  in  the  streets  and  oxen  were  roasted  whole, 
prizes  on  poles  were  climbed  for,  pigs  were  hunted  blindfold, 
men  and  women  raced  in  sacks,  and  in  short,  for  nine  days  long 
there  was  one  universal  and  spontaneous  demonstration  of 
hilarity  in  Antwerp  and  throughout  the  provinces.* 

But  with  this  merry  humor  of  his  subjects,  the  sovereign 
had  but  little  sympathy.  There  was  nothing  in  his  character 
or  purposes  which  owed  affinity  with  any  mood  of  this  jocund 
and  energetic  people.  Philip  had  not  made  peace  with  all  the 
world  that  the  Netherlander  might  climb  on  poles  or  ring 
bells,  or  strew  flowers  in  his  path  for  a  little  holiday  time,  and 
then  return  to  their  industrious  avocations  again.  He  had 
made  peace  with  all  the  world  that  he  might  be  free  to  combat 
heresy  ;  and  this  arch  enemy  had  taken  up  its  strong  hold  in 
the  provinces.  The  treaty  of  Cateau  Cambresis  left  him  at 
liberty  to  devote  himself  to  that  great  enterprise.  He  had 
never  loved  the  Netherlands,  a  residence  in  these  consti- 
tutional provinces  was  extremely  irksome  to  him,  and  he  was 
therefore  anxious  to  return  to  Spain.  From  the  depths  of  his 
cabinet  he  felt  that  he  should  be  able  to  direct  the  enterprise 
he  was  resolved  upon,  and  that  his  presence  in  the  Netherlands 
would  be  superfluous  and  disagreeable. 

The  early  part  of  the  year  1559  was  spent  by  Philip  in  or- 
ganizing the  government  of  the  provinces  and  in  making  the 
necessary  preparations  for  his  departure.  The  Duke  of  Savoy, 
being  restored  to  his  duchy,  had,  of  course,  no  more  leisure  to 
act  as  Regent  of  the  Netherlands,  and  it  was  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  fix  upon  his  successor  in  this  important  post,  at  once. 
There  were   several  candidates.     The   Duchess  Christina  of 


*  Meteren,  i.  23,  24. 


208  THE   EISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

Lorraine  had  received  many  half  promises  of  the  appointment, 
which  she  was  most  anxious  to  secure  ;  the  Emperor  was  even 
said  to  desire  the  nomination  of  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  a 
step  which  would  have  certainly  argued  more  magnanimity 
upon  Philip's  part  than  the  world  could  give  him  credit  for  ; 
and  besides  these  regal  personages,  the  high  nobles  of  the 
land,  especially  Orange  and  Egmont,  had  hopes  of  obtaining 
the  dignity.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  however,  was  too  saga- 
cious to  deceive  himself  long,  and  became  satisfied  very  soon 
that  no  Netherlander  was  likely  to  be  selected  for  Kegent.  He 
therefore  threw  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  Duchess  Chris- 
tina, whose  daughter,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Bishop  of 
Arras,  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining  in  marriage.  The  King 
favored  for  a  time,  or  pretended  to  favor,  both  the  appoint- 
ment of  Madame  de  Lorraine  and  the  marriage  project  of  the 
Prince.*  Afterwards,  however,  and  in  a  manner  which  was 
accounted  both  sudden  and  mysterious,  it  appeared  that  the 
Duchess  and  Orange  had  both  been  deceived,  and  that  the 
King  and  Bishop  had  decided  in  favor  of  another  candidate, 
whose  claims  had  not  been  considered,  before,  very  promi- 
nent.")" This  was  the  Duchess  Margaret  of  Parma,  natural 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  +  A  brief  sketch  of  this  im- 
portant personage,  so  far  as  regards  her  previous  career,  is 
reserved  for  the  following  chapter.  For  the  present  it  is 
sufficient  to  state  the  fact  of  the  nomination.  In  order  to 
afford  a  full  view  of  Philip's  political  arrangements  before 
his  final  departure  from  the  Netherlands,  we  defer  until 
the  same  chapter,  an  account  of  the  persons  who  com- 
posed the  boards  of  council  organized  to  assist  the  new 
Regent     in     the     government.       These     bodies     themselves 


*  Vide  Bakhuyzen  v.  d.  Brink.  Het  Huwelijk  van  W.  Van  Oranje,  7,  sqq. 
Reiffenberg.  Correspondance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche  (Bruxelles,  1842), 
p.  272. 

\  Bakhuyzen,  p.  8.  Compare  Plor.  Vander  Haer  de  initiis  tumultuum  Bol- 
gicorum  (Lovanni,  1640),  i.  p.  127.  Strada  de  Bell.  Belg.  i.  34,  35-42-  Mete- 
ren,  i.  24. 

|  Strada,  Vander  Haer,  Meteren,  ubi  sup. 


1559.]  THREE   COUNCILS.  209 

were  three  in  number  :  a  state  and  privy  council  and  one 
of  finance.*  They  were  not  new  institutions,  having  been 
originally  established  by  the  Emperor,  and  were  now  arranged 
by  his  successor  upon  the  same  nominal  basis  upon  which 
they  had  before  existed.  The  finance  council,  which  had  super- 
intendence of  all  matters  relating  to  the  royal  domains  and 
to  the  annual  budgets  of  the  government,  was  presided  over 
by  Baron  Berlaymont.f  The  privy  council,  of  which  Viglius 
was  president,  was  composed  of  ten  or  twelve  learned  doctors, 
and  was  especially  entrusted  with  the  control  of  matters  re- 
lating to  law,  pardons,  and  the  general  administration  of 
justice.  The  state  council,  which  was  far  the  most  important 
of  the  three  boards,  was  to  superintend  all  high  affairs  of 
government,  war,  treaties,  foreign  intercourse,  internal  and 
interprovincial  affairs.  The  members  of  this  council  were  the 
Bishop  of  Arras,  Viglius,  Berlaymont,  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
Count  Egmont,  to  which  number  were  afterwards  added  the 
Seigneur  de  Grlayon,  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  and  Count  Horn.J 
The  last-named  nobleman,  who  was  admiral  of  the  provinces, 
had,  for  the  present,  been  appointed  to  accompany  the  King 
to  Spain,  there  to  be  specially  entrusted  with  the  administra- 
tion of  affairs  relating  to  the  Netherlands.§  He  was  destined, 
however,  to  return  at  the  expiration  of  two  years. 

With  the  object,  as  it  was  thought,  of  curbing  the  power 
of  the  great  nobles,  it  had  been  arranged  that  the  three 
councils  should  be  entirely  distinct  from  each  other,  that  the 
members  of  the  state  council  should  have  no  participation  in 
the  affairs  of  the  two  other  bodies  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  finance  and  privy  councillors,  as  well  as  the  Knights 
of  the  Fleece,  should  have  access  to  the  deliberations  of  the 
state  council. 1 1  In  the  course  of  events,  however,  it  soon  be- 
came evident  that  the  real  power  of  the  government  was 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  consulta,  a  committee  of  three 


*  Meteren  24.     Hoofd,  i.  23.  f  Meteren,  Hoofd,  Vander  Yynckt. 

%  Hoofd,  i.  23.     Meteren,  i.  24.  §  Vander  Vynckt,  i.  149. 

J  Hoofd,  Meteren,  ubi  sup. 

VOL.   I.  14 


210  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

members  of  the  state  council,  by  whose  deliberations  the 
Regent  was  secretly  instructed  to  be  guided  on  all  important 
occasions.  The  three,  Viglius,  Berlaymont,  and  Arras,  who 
composed  the  secret  conclave  or  cabinet,  were  in  reality  but 
one.  The  Bishop  of  Arras  was  in  all  three,  and  the  three 
together  constituted  only  the  Bishop  of  Arras. 

There  was  no  especial  governor  or  stadholder  appointed  for 
the  province  of  Brabant,  where  the  Regent  was  to  reside  and 
to  exercise  executive  functions  in  person.  The  stadholders 
for  the  other  provinces  were,  for  Flanders  and  Artois,  the 
Count  of  Egmont ;  for  Holland,  Zeeland,  and  Utrecht,  the 
Prince  of  Orange  ;  for  Gueldres  and  Zutfen,  the  Count  of 
Meghen ;  for  Friesland,  Groningen  and  Overyssel,  Count 
Aremberg  ;  for  Hainault,  Valenciennes  and  Cambray,  the 
Marquis  of  Berghen ;  for  Tournay  and  Tournaisis,  Baron 
Montigny  ;  for  Namur,  Baron  Berlaymont ;  for  Luxemburg, 
Count  Mansfeld  ;  for  Ryssel,  Douay  and  Orchies,  the  Baron 
Coureires.*  All  these  stadholders  were  commanders-in-chief 
of  the  military  forces  in  their  respective  provinces.  With  the 
single  exception  of  Count  Egmont,  in  whose  province  of 
Flanders  the  stadholders  were  excluded  from  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,f  all  were  likewise  supreme  judges  in  the  civil 
and  criminal  tribunal.  J  The  military  force  of  the  Netherlands 
in  time  of  peace  was  small,  for  the  provinces  were  jealous  of 
the  presence  of  soldiery.  The  only  standing  army  which  then 
legally  existed  in  the  Netherlands  were  the  Bandes  d'Ordon- 
nance,  a  body  of  mounted  gendarmerie — amounting  in  all  to 
three  thousand  men— -which  ranked  among  the  most  accom- 
plished and  best  disciplined  cavalry  of  Europe.§  They  were 
divided  into  fourteen  squadrons,  each  under  the  command 
of  a  stadholder,  or  of  a  distinguished  noble.  Besides  these 
troops,  however,  there  still  remained  in  the  provinces  a  foreign 
force  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  four  thousand  men.|| 
These  soldiers  were  the  remainder  of  those  large  bodies  which 


*  Meteren,  i.  24.     Hoofd,  i.  22.  f  Hoofd,  22. 

J  Meteren,  24.  §  Ibid.  j  Bor,  i.  19.     Meteren. 


1559.]  THE   GHENT   ASSEMBLY.  211 

year  after  year  had  been  quartered  upon  the  Netherlands 
during  the  constant  warfare  to  which  they  had  been  exposed. 
Living  upon  the  substance  of  the  country,  paid  out  of 
its  treasury,  and  as  offensive  by  their  licentious  and  ribald 
habits  of  life  as  were  the  enemies  against  whom  they  were 
enrolled,  these  troops  had  become  an  intolerable  burthen  to 
the  people.  They  were  now  disposed  in  different  garrisons, 
nominally  to  protect  the  frontier.  As  a  firm  peace,  however, 
had  now  been  concluded  between  Spain  and  France,  and  as 
there  was  no  pretext  for  compelling  the  provinces  to  accept 
this  protection,  the  presence  of  a  foreign  soldiery  strengthened 
a  suspicion  that  they  were  to  be  used  in  the  onslaught  which 
was  preparing  against  the  religious  freedom  and  the  political 
privileges  of  the  country.  They  were  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a 
larger  army,  it  was  believed,  by  which  the  land  was  to  be 
reduced  to  a  state  of  servile  subjection  to  Spain.  A  low, 
constant,  but  generally  unheeded  murmur  of  dissatisfaction 
and  distrust  upon  this  subject  was  already  perceptible  through- 
out the  Netherlands  ;*  a  warning  presage  of  the  coming 
storm. 

All  the  provinces  were  now  convoked  for  the  7th  of 
August  (1559),  at  Ghent,  there  to  receive  the  parting  com- 
munication and  farewell  of  the  King4  Previously  to  this  day, 
however,  Philip  appeared  in  person  upon  several  solemn  occa- 
sions, to  impress  upon  the  country  the  necessity  of  attending 
to  the  great  subject  with  which  his  mind  was  exclusively 
occupied.f  He  came  before  the  great  council  of  Mechlin,§ 
in  order  to  address  that  body  with  his  own  lips  upon  the 
necessity  of  supporting  the  edicts  to  the  letter,  and  of 
trampling  out  every  vestige  of  heresy,  wherever  it  should 
appear,  by  the  immediate  immolation  of  all  heretics,  whoever 
they  might  be. 

*  Bor,  i.  19.     Meteren,  24.  f  Meteren,  24. 

%  Joach.  Hopperus.  Recueil  et  Memorial  des  Troubles  des  Pays  Bas  (apud 
Hoynckt,  ii.),  p.  20. 

§  Ibid.  Compare  Gachard,  Collection  des  Documents  Inedits  concernant 
1'Histoire  de  la  Belgique  (Brux.,  1833),  i.  313-337. 


212  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

He  likewise  caused  the  estates  of  Flanders  to  be  privately 
assembled,  that  he  might  harangue  them  upon  the  same  great 
topic.  In  the  latter  part  of  July  he  proceeded  to  Ghent, 
where  a  great  concourse  of  nobles,  citizens,  and  strangers  had 
already  assembled.  Here,  in  the  last  week  of  the  month,  the 
twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Golden  Fleece  was  held  with 
much  pomp,  and  with  festivities  which  lasted  three  days. 
The  fourteen  vacancies  which  existed  were  filled  with  the 
names  of  various  distinguished  personages.  With  this  last 
celebration  the  public  history  of  Philip  the  Good's  ostentatious 
and  ambitious  order  of  knighthood  was  closed.  The  subse- 
quent nominations  were  made  ex  indultu  apostolico,  and  with- 
out the  assembling  of  a  chapter.* 

The  estates  having  duly  assembled  upon  the  day  prescribed, 
Philip,  attended  by  Margaret  of  Parma,  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
and  a  stately  retinue  of  ambassadors  and  grandees,  made  his 
appearance  before  them.  After  the  customary  ceremonies  had 
been  performed,  the  Bishop  of  Arras  arose  and  delivered,  in 
the  name  of  his  sovereign,  an  elaborate  address  of  instructions 
and  farewells.  In  this  important  harangue,  the  states  were 
informed  that  the  King  had  convened  them  in  order  that  they 
might  be  informed  of  his  intention  of  leaving  the  Netherlands 
immediately.  He  would  gladly  have  remained  longer  in  his 
beloved  provinces,  had  not  circumstances  compelled  his  de- 
parture. His  father  had  come  hither  for  the  good  of  the 
country  in  the  year  1543,  and  had  never  returned  to  Spain, 
except  to  die. 

Upon  the  King's  accession  to  the  sovereignty  he  had  ar- 
ranged a  truce  of  five  years,  which  had  been  broken  through  by 
the  faithlessness  of  France.  He  had,  therefore,  been  obliged, 
notwithstanding  his  anxiety  to  return  to  a  country  where 
his  presence  was  so  much  needed,  to  remain  in  the  prov- 
inces till  he  had  conducted  the  new  war  to  a  triumphant 
close.  In  doing  this  he  had  been  solely  governed  by  his 
intense  love  for  the  Netherlands,  and  by  his  regard  for  their 


*  Vander  Vynckt,  i.  135. 


1559.]  FAKEWELL    ADDKESS.  213 

interests.     All  the   money  which  he   had  raised  from   their 
coffers  had  been  spent  for  their  protection.     Upon  this  account 
his  Majesty  expressed  his  confidence  that  the  estates  would 
pay  an  earnest  attention  to  the  "Request"  which  had  been 
laid  before  them,  the  more  so,  as  its  amount,  three  millions  of 
gold  florins,  would  all  be  expended  for  the  good  of  the  pro- 
vinces.    After  his   return  to    Spain  he  hoped  to  be  able  to 
make  a  remittance.     The  Duke  of  Savoy,  he  continued,  being 
obliged,  in  consequence  of  the  fortunate  change  in  his  affairs, 
to  resign  the  government   of  the  Netherlands,  and  his  own 
son,  Don  Carlos,  not  yet  being  sufficiently  advanced  in  years 
to  succeed  to  that  important  post,  his  Majesty  had  selected 
his  sister,  the  Duchess  Margaret  of  Parma,  daughter  of  the 
Emperor,  as  the  most  proper  person  for  Regent.     As  she  had 
been  born  in  the  Netherlands,  and  had  always  entertained  a  pro- 
found affection  for  the  provinces,  he  felt  a  firm  confidence  that 
she  would  prove  faithful  both  to  their  interests  and  his  own. 
As  at  this  moment  many  countries,  and  particularly  the  lands 
in    the    immediate    neighborhood,    were   greatly   infested    by 
various  "  new,  reprobate,  and  damnable  sects  ;"  as  these  sects, 
proceeding  from   the   foul  fiend,  father  of  discord,   had  not 
failed   to   keep  those  kingdoms  in  perpetual  dissension  and 
misery,  to  the  manifest  displeasure  of  God  Almighty  ;  as  his 
Majesty  was  desirous  to  avert  such  terrible  evils  from  his  own 
realms,  according  to  his  duty  to  the  Lord  God,  who  would 
demand  reckoning  from  him  hereafter  for  the  well-being  of 
the  provinces  ;  as  all  experience  proved  that  change  of  religion 
ever  brought  desolation  and  confusion  to  the  commonweal ;  as 
low  persons,  beggars  and  vagabonds,  under  color  of  religion, 
were   accustomed  to  traverse  the  land  for  the  purpose   of 
plunder  and  disturbance  ;  as  his  Majesty  was  most  desirous  of 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  lord  and  father  ;   as  it  would 
be  well  remembered  what  the  Emperor  had  said  to  him  upon 
the   memorable   occasion   of    his   abdication ;    therefore   his 
Majesty  had  commanded  the  Regent  Margaret  of  Parma,  for 
the  sake   of  religion  and  the  glory  of  God,  accurately  and 
exactly  to  cause  to  be  enforced  the  edicts  and  decrees  made  by 


214  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

his  imperial  Majesty,  and  renewed  by  his  present Majesty,  for  the 
extirpation  of  all  sects  and  heresies.  All  governors,  councillors, 
and  others  having  authority,  were  also  instructed  to  do  their 
utmost  to  accomplish  this  great  end.* 

The  great  object  of  the  discourse  was  thus  announced  in 
the  most  impressive  manner,  and  with  all  that  conventional 
rhetoric  of  which  the  Bishop  of  Arras  was  considered  a  con- 
summate master.  Not  a  word  was  said  on  the  subject  which 
was  nearest  the  hearts  of  the  Netherlander — the  withdrawal  of 
the  Spanish  troops.f  Not  a  hint  was  held  out  that  a 
reduction  of  the  taxation,  under  which  the  provinces  had  so 
long  been  groaning,  was  likely  to  take  place  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  the  King  had  demanded  a  new  levy  of  considerable 
amount.  A  few  well-turned  paragraphs  were  added  on  the 
subject  of  the  administration  of  justice — "  without  which  the 
republic  was  a  dead  body  without  a  soul" — in  the  Bishop's  most 
approved  style,  and  the  discourse  concluded  with  a  fervent  ex- 
hortation to  the  provinces  to  trample  heresy  and  heretics  out 
of  existence,  and  with  the  hope  that  the  Lord  God,  in  such  case, 
would  bestow  upon  the  Netherlands  health  and  happiness.! 


*  See  the  Speech  in  Bor,  i.  19,  20,  21.  Compare  Gachard,  Docum.  Ined. 
i.  313-322. 

f  Bentivoglio.  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  i.  9  (Opere,  Parigi,  1648),  gives  a  different 
report,  which  ends  with  a  distinct  promise  on  the  part  of  the  King  to  dismiss 

the  troops  as  soon  as  possible :   " in  segno  di  che  spetialmente  havrebbe 

quanto  prima,  e  fatti  uscire  i  presidij  stranieri  dalle  fortezze  e  levata  ogn'  inso- 
lita  contributione  al  paese."  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  state  that  the  Cardinal 
is  no  authority  for  speeches,  except,  indeed,  for  those  which  were  never  made. 
Long  orations  by  generals  upon  the  battle-field,  by  royal  personages  in  their 
cabinets,  by  conspirators  in  secret  conclave,  are  reported  by  him  with  much 
minuteness,  and  none  can  gainsay  the  accuracy  with  which  these  harangues, 
which  never  had  any  existence,  except  in  the  author's  imagination,  are  placed 
before  the  reader.  Bentivoglio's  stately  and  graceful  style,  elegant  descriptions, 
and  general  acquaintance  with  his  subject  will  always  make  his  works  attract- 
ive, but  the  classic  and  conventional  system  of  inventing  long  speeches  for 
historical  characters  has  fortunately  gone  out  of  fashion.  It  is  very  interesting 
to  know  what  an  important  personage  really  did  say  or  write  upon  remarkable 
occasions;  but  it  is  less  instructive  to  be  told  what  the  historian  thinks  might 
have  been  a  good  speech  or  epistle  for  him  to  utter  or  indite. 

J  Bor,  ubi  sup. 


1559.]  UNEXPECTED    CONDITIONS.  215 

After  the  address  had  been  concluded,  the  deputies,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  form,  requested  permission  to  adjourn,  that  the 
representatives  of  each  province  might  deliberate  among  them- 
selves on  the  point  of  granting  or  withholding  the  Request 
for  the  three  millions.*  On  the  following  day  they  again 
assembled  in  the  presence  of  the  King,  for  the  purpose  of 
returning  their  separate  answers  to  the  propositions.^ 

The  address  first  read  was  that  of  the  Estates  of  Artois.J: 
The  chairman  of  the  deputies  from  that  province  read  a 
series  of  resolutions,  drawn  up,  says  a  contemporary,  "  with 
that  elegance  which  characterized  all  the  public  acts  of  the 
Artesians,  bearing  witness  to  the  vivacity  of  their  wits."§ 
The  deputies  spoke  of  the  extreme  affection  which  their 
province  had  always  borne  to  his  Majesty  and  to  the  Emperor. 
They  had  proved  it  by  the  constancy  with  which  they  had  en- 
dured the  calamities  of  war  so  long,  and  they  now  cheerfully 
consented  to  the  Request,  so  far  as  their  contingent  went. 
They  were  willing  to  place  at  his  Majesty's  disposal,  not  only  the 
remains  of  their  property,  but  even  the  last  drop  of  their  blood. 

As  the  eloquent  chairman  reached  this  point  in  his  dis- 
course, Philip,  who  was  standing  with  his  arm  resting  upon 
Egmont's  shoulder,  listening  eagerly  to  the  Artesian  address, 
looked  upon  the  deputies  of  the  province  with  a  smiling  face,[| 
expressing  by  the  unwonted  benignity  of  his  countenance  the 
satisfaction  which  he  received  from  these  loyal  expressions  of 
affection,  and  this  dutiful  compliance  with  his  Request.^} 

The  deputy,  however,  proceeded  to  an  unexpected  con- 
clusion, by  earnestly  entreating  his  Majesty,  as  a  compen- 
sation for  the  readiness  thus  evinced  in  the  royal  service,  forth- 
with to  order  the  departure  of  all  foreign  troops  then  in  the 
Netherlands.      Their  presence,  it  was  added,  was  now  rendered 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS.,  14-18.  f  Ibid-  X  Pontus  Payen  MS 

§  " en  termes  fort   elegans   comme   sont   ordinairement    lea    actes  et 

depeches  qui  se  font  aux  assemblies  desdicts  Etats  rendans  bon  tesmoignage 

de  la  vivacite  des  esprits  d'Artois." — Ibid. 

1  Pontus  Payen  MS.,  14-18.  ^  Ibid. 


216  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

completely  superfluous  by  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of 
peace  so  fortunately  arranged  with  all  the  world. 

At  this  sudden  change  in  the  deputy's  language,  the  King, 
no  longer  smiling,  threw  himself  violently  upon  his  chair  of 
state,  where  he  remained,  brooding  with  a  gloomy  countenance 
upon  the  language  which  had  been  addressed  to  him.  It  was 
evident,  said  an  eye-witness,  that  he  was  deeply  offended.  He 
changed  color  frequently,  so  that  all  present  "  could  remark,  from 
the  working  of  his  face,  how  much  his  mind  was  agitated."* 

The  rest  of  the  provinces  were  even  more  explicit  than  the 
deputies  of  Artois.  All  had  voted  their  contingents  to  the  Be- 
quest, but  all  had  made  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  an  express 
antecedent  condition  to  the  payment  of  their  respective  quotas.f 

The  King  did  not  affect  to  conceal  his  rage  at  these  con- 
ditions, exclaiming  bitterly  to  Count  Egmont  and  other 
seignors  near  the  throne  that  it  was  very  easy  to  estimate,  by 
these  proceedings,  the  value  of  the  protestations  made  by  the 
provinces  of  their  loyalty  and  affection.^ 

Besides,  however,  the  answers  thus  addressed  by  the 
separate  states  to  the  royal  address,  a  formal  remonstrance 
had  also  been  drawn  up  in  the  name  of  the  States  General, 
and  signed  by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  Count  Egmont,  and 
many  of  the  leading  patricians  of  the  Netherlands.  This 
document,  which  was  formally  presented  to  the  King  before 
the  adjournment  of  the  assembly,  represented  the  infamous 
"pillaging,  insults,  and  disorders"  daily  exercised  by  the  foreign 
soldiery  ;  stating  that  the  burthen  had  become  intolerable,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Marienburg,  and  of  many  other  large 
towns  and  villages,  had  absolutely  abandoned  their  homes 
rather  than  remain  any  longer  exposed  to  such  insolence  and 
oppression.§ 

*  Pontus  Payen  MS.  f  Ibid. 

\  Ibid.  Compare  Vander  Haer,  i.  108,  109,  110;  "Wagenaer  Vaderl.  Hist., 
vi.  52. 

§  Meteren,  i.  24.  Bor.  i.  22.  Wagenaer,  vi.  48-52.  "  Remontrancc 
addressee  au  roy  par  les  etats  generaulx  pour  le  renvoi  des  troupes  etrangeres  et 
pour  que  les  affaires  fussent  administrees  de  l'avis  des  Seigneurs." — Gachard. 
Documents  Inedits.  i.  323-325. 


1559.]  THE   ROYAL   RAGE.  217 

The  king,  already  enraged,  was  furious  at  the  presentation 
of  this  petition.  He  arose  from  his  seat,  and  rushed  impetu- 
ously from  the  assembly,  demanding  of  the  members  as  he 
went,  whether  he  too,  as  a  Spaniard,  was  expected  immediately 
to  leave  the  land,  and  to  resign  all  authority  over  it.*  The 
Duke  of  Savoy  made  use  of  this  last  occasion  in  which  he 
appeared  in  public  as  Eegent,  violently  to  rebuke  the  estates 
for  the  indignity  thus  offered  to  their  sovereign.f 

It  could  not  be  forgotten,  however,  by  nobles  and  burghers, 
who  had  not  yet  been  crushed  by  the  long  course  of  oppression 
which  was  in  store  for  them,  that  there  had  been  a  day  when 
Philip's  ancestors  had  been  more  humble  in  their  deport- 
ment in  the  face  of  the  provincial  authorities.  His  great- 
grandfather, Maximilian,  kept  in  durance  by  the  citizens  of 
Bruges ;  his  great-grandmother,  Mary  of  Burgundy,  with 
streaming  eyes  and  dishevelled  hair,  supplicating  in  the 
market-place  for  the  lives  of  her  treacherous  ambassadors, 
were  wont  to  hold  a  less  imperious  language  to  the  delegates 
of  the  states. 

This  burst  of  ill  temper  on  the  part  of  the  monarch  was, 
however,  succeeded  by  a  different  humor.  It  was  still  thought 
advisable  to  dissemble,  and  to  return  rather  an  expostulatory 
than  a  peremptory  answer  to  the  remonstrance  of  the  States 
General.  Accordingly  a  paper  of  a  singular  tone  was,  after  the 
delay  of  a  few  days,  sent  into  the  assembly.  In  this  message 
it  was  stated  that  the  King  was  not  desirous  of  placing 
strangers  in  the  government — a  fact  which  was  proved  by  the 
appointment  of  the  Duchess  Margaret ;  that  the  Spanish  in- 
fantry was  necessary  to  protect  the  land  from  invasion  ;  that 
the  remnant  of  foreign  troops  only  amounted  to  three  or  four 
thousand  men,  who  claimed  considerable  arrears  of  pay,  but 
that  the  amount  due  would  be  forwarded  to  them  immediately 
after  his  Majesty's  return  to  Spain.  It  was  suggested  that  the 
troops  would  serve  as  an  escort  for  Don  Carlos  when  he  should 


*  Wagenaer,  vi.  52.     Compare  Vander  Haer,  "Subiratum  de  sede  Regem  sur- 
rexisse  et  eo  digresso,"  etc. — viii.  110.  f  Vander  Haer.  ubi  sup. 


218  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559, 

arrive  in  the  Netherlands,  although  the  King  would  have  been 
glad  to  carry  them  to  Spain  in  his  fleet,  had  he  known  the 
wishes  of  the  estates  in  time.  He  would,  however,  pay  for 
their  support  himself,  although  they  were  to  act  solely  for  the 
good  of  the  provinces.  He  observed,  moreover,  that  he  had 
selected  two  seignors  of  the  provinces,  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
Count  Egmont,  to  take  command  of  these  foreign  troops, 
and  he  promised  faithfully  that,  in  the  course  of  three  or  four 
months  at  furthest,  they  should  all  be  withdrawn.* 

On  the  same  day  in  which  the  estates  had  assembled  at 
Ghent,  Philip  had  addressed  an  elaborate  letter  to  the  grand 
council  of  Mechlin,  the  supreme  court  of  the  provinces,  and 
to  the  various  provincial  councils  and  tribunals  of  the  whole 
country.f  The  object  of  the  communication  was  to  give  his 
final  orders  on  the  subject  of  the  edicts,  and  for  the  execution 
of  all  heretics  in  the  most  universal  and  summary  manner. 
He  gave  stringent  and  unequivocal  instructions  that  these 
decrees  for  burning,  strangling,  and  burying  alive,  should  be 
fulfilled  to  the  letter.  He  ordered  all  judicial  officers  and 
magistrates  "to  be  curious  to  enquire  on  all  sides  as  to  the 
execution  of  the  placards,"  stating  his  intention  that  "  the 
utmost  rigor  should  be  employed  without  any  respect  of  per- 
sons," and  that  not  only  "  the  transgressors  should  be  pro- 
ceeded against,  but  also  the  judges  who  should  prove  remiss 
in  their  prosecution  of  heretics."*  He  alluded  to  a  false  oj)in- 
ion  which  had  gained  currency  that  the  edicts  were  only 
intended  against  anabaptists.  Correcting  this  error,  he  stated 
that  they  were  to  be  "  enforced  against  all  sectaries,  without 


*  "  Reponse  du  Roy  a  la  Remontrance,"  etc. — Documents  Inedits,  i.  326-329. 

■f-  Lettre  de  Phil.  II.  au  grand  conseil  de  Malines  par  laquelle  il  lui  fait  con- 
naitre  son  intention  sur  le  fait  de  la  religion  et  de  l'extirpation  des  heresies,  8 
Aout,  1559. — Documents  Inedits,  i.  332-339. 

X  " que  vous  soyez  curieulx  pour  vous  enquerir  si  a  tous  costelz  l'execu- 

tion  se  fera  contre  ceulx  qui  y  contro  viendront  laquelle  execution  nous  enten- 
dons  et  voulons  se  face  avec  toute  rigueur  et  sans  y  respecter  personne  qui  que  ce 
soit,  et  de  proceder  non  seullement  contre  les  transgresseurs  mais  aussi  contre  les 
juges  qui  vouldroient  user  de  dissimulation  et  connivance,"  etc.,  etc. — 355. 


1559.]  FAREWELL    EXPLOSION   OF   WRATH.  219 

any  distinction  or  mercy,  who  might  be  spotted  merely  with 
the  errors  introduced  by  Luther/'* 

The  King,  notwithstanding  the  violent  scenes  in  the 
assembly,  took  leave  of  the  estates  at  another  meeting  with 
apparent  cordiality.  His  dissatisfaction  was  sufficiently 
manifest,  but  it  expressed  itself  principally  against  indi- 
viduals. His  displeasure  at  the  course  pursued  by  the  leading 
nobles,  particularly  by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  was  already  no 
secret. 

Philip,  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  assembly,  had 
completed  the  preparations  for  his  departure.  At  Middelburg 
he  was  met  by  the  agreeable  intelligence  that  the  Pope  had 
consented  to  issue  a  bull  for  the  creation  of  the  new  bishoprics 
which  he  desired  for  the  Netherlands.f  This  important  sub- 
ject will  be  resumed  in  another  chapter ;  for  the  present  we 
accompany  the  King  to  Flushing,  whence  the  fleet  was  to  set 
sail  for  Spain.  He  was  escorted  thither  by  the  Duchess 
Regent,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  by  many  of  the  most  emi- 
nent personages  of  the  provinces.!  Among  others  William  of 
Orange  was  in  attendance  to  witness  the  final  departure  of  the 
King,  and  to  pay  him  his  farewell  respects.  As  Philip  was 
proceeding  on  board  the  ship  which  was  to  bear  him  forever 
from  the  Netherlands,  his  eyes  lighted  upon  the  Prince. 
His  displeasure  could  no  longer  be  restrained.  With  angry 
face  he  turned  upon  him,  and  bitterly  reproached  him  for 
having  thwarted  all  his  plans  by  means  of  his  secret  in- 
trigues. William  replied  with  humility  that  every  thing 
which  had  taken  place  had  been  done  through  the  regular  and 
natural  movements  of  the  states.  Upon  this  the  King,  boil- 
ing with  rage,  seized  the  Prince  by  the  wrist,  and  shaking  it 
violently,  exclaimed  in  Spanish,  "  No  los  estados,  ma  vos,  vos, 
vos  ! — Not  the  estates,  but  you,  you,  you  !"  repeating  thrice 


*  " contre  ceulx  qui  pcurroient  estro  seullement  entachez  des  articles  et 

erreurs  introduitz  et  soustenus  par  le  diet  Luthere." — 33?. 

f  Hopper     Rec.  et.  Mem.,  p.  21,  c.  il  \  Vandei  Vynckt,  i.  140 


220  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

the  word  vos,  which  is  as  disrespectful  and  uncourteous  in 
Spanish  as  "toi"  in  French.* 

After  this  severe  and  public  insult,  the  Prince  of  Orange 
did  not  go  on  board  his  Majesty's  vessel,  but  contented  himself 
with  wishing  Philip,  from  the  shore,f  a  fortunate  journey.  It 
may  be  doubted,  moreover,  whether  he  would  not  have  made 
a  sudden  and  compulsory  voyage  to  Spain  had  he  ventured  his 
person  in  the  ship,  and  whether,  under  the  circumstances,  he 
would  have  been  likely  to  effect  as  speedy  a  return.  His  cau- 
tion served  him  then  as  it  was  destined  to  do  on  many  future 
occasions,  and  Philip  left  the  Netherlands  with  this  parting 
explosion  of  hatred  against  the  man  who,  as  he  perhaps  in- 
stinctively felt,  'was  destined  to  circumvent  his  measures  and 
resist  his  tyranny  to  the  last. 

The  fleet,  which  consisted  of  ninety  vessels,  so  well  provi- 
sioned that,  among  other  matters,  fifteen  thousand  capons  were 
put  on  board,  according  to  the  Antwerp  chronicler,^  set  sail 
upon  the  26th  August  (1559),  from  Flushing.§  The  voyage 
proved  tempestuous,  so  that  much  of  the  rich  tapestry  and 
other  merchandise  which  had  been  accumulated  by  Charles 
and  Philip  was  lost.  Some  of  the  vessels  foundered  ;  to  save 
others  it  was  necessary  to  lighten  the  cargo,  and  "  to  enrobe 
the  roaring  waters  with  the  silks,"  for  which  the  Netherlands 
were  so  famous  ;  so  that  it  was  said  that  Philip  and  his  father 
had  impoverished  the  earth  only  to  enrich  the  ocean. ||  The 
fleet  had  been  laden  with  much  valuable  property,  because  the 
King  had  determined  to  fix  for  the  future  the  wandering  capital 
of  his  dominions  in  Spain.  Philip  landed  in  safety,  however, 
at  Laredo,  on  the  8th  September.^"  His  escape  from  immi- 
nent peril  confirmed  him  in  the  great  purpose  to  which  he  had 
consecrated  his  existence.     He  believed  himself  to  have  been 


*  Memoires  de  l'Aubery  du  Maurier  (Mauri er,  1680),  p.  9,  who  relates  the 
anecdote  upon  the  authority  of  his  father,  who  had  it  from  a  gentleman  present 
at  tho  scene,  a  friend  of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

f  Ibid.  {  Meteren,  i.  25.  §  Ibid. 

H  Meteren,  i.  25.     Hoofd,  i.  27.     Compare  Cabrera,  v.  235. 

V  Bor,  i.  22. 


1559.]  AUTOS-DA-FE    UPON   PHILIP'S   RETURN.  221 

reserved  from  shipwreck  only  because  a  mighty  mission  had 
been  confided  to  him,  and  lest  his  enthusiasm  against  heresy 
should  languish,  his  eyes  were  soon  feasted,  upon  his  arrival 
in  his  native  country,  with  the  spectacle  of  an  auto-da-fe. 

Early  in  January  of  this  year  the  King  being  persuaded  that 
it  was  necessary  every  where  to  use  additional  means  to  check 
the  alarming  spread  of  Lutheran  opinions,  had  written  to  the 
Pope  for  authority  to  increase,  if  that  were  possible,  the  strin- 
gency of  the  Spanish  inquisition.  The  pontiff,  nothing  loath, 
had  accordingly  issued  a  bull  directed  to  the  inquisitor  general, 
Valdez,  by  which  he  was  instructed  to  consign  to  the  flames  all 
prisoners  whatever,  even  those  who  were  not  accused  of  having 
"relapsed."*  Great  preparations  had  been  made  to  strike 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  heretics  by  a  series  of  horrible  exhi- 
bitions, in  the  course  of  which  the  numerous  victims,  many  of 
them  persons  of  high  rank,  distinguished  learning,  and  exem- 
plary lives,  who  had  long  been  languishing  in  the  dungeons  of 
the  holy  office,  were  to  be  consigned  to  the  flames.f  The  first 
auto-da-fe  had  been  consummated  at  Valladolid  on  the  21st 
May  (1559),  in  the  absence  of  the  King,  of  course,  but  in  the 
presence  of  the  royal  family  and  the  principal  notabilities,  civil, 
ecclesiastical,  and  military.  The  Princess  Regent,  seated  on 
her  throne,  close  to  the  scaffold,  had  held  on  high  the  holy 
sword.  The  Archbishop  of  Seville,  followed  by  the  ministers 
of  the  inquisition  and  by  the  victims,  had  arrived  in  solemn 
procession  at  the  "  cadahalso,"  where,  after  the  usual  sermon 
in  praise  of  the  holy  office  and  in  denunciation  of  heresy,  he 
had  administered  the  oath  to  the  Infante,  who  had  duly  sworn 
upon  the  crucifix  to  maintain  forever  the  sacred  inquisition 
and  the  apostolic  decrees.  The  Archbishop  had  then  cried 
aloud,  "  So  may  God  prosper  your  Highnesses  and  your 
estates  ;"+  after  which  the  men  and  women  who  formed  the 


*  "Had  the  King  and  the  Inquisitor  never  committed  any  other  evil,"  says 
Llorente,  "this  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  consign  their  names  to  eternal 
infamy." 

f  Cabrera,  v.  235,  sqq.     Llorente.     Hist.  Crit.  de  l'lnquis.,  ii.  xviii. 

J  Cabrera,  iv.  209 


222  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

object  of  the  show  had  been  cast  into  the  flames.0  It  being 
afterwards  ascertained  that  the  King  himself  would  soon  be 
enabled  to  return  to  Spain,  the  next  festival  was  reserved  as 
a  fitting  celebration  for  his  arrival.  Upon  the  8th  October, 
accordingly,  another  auto-da-fe  took  place  at  Valladolid.  The 
King,  with  his  sister  and  his  son,  the  high  officers  of  state,  the 
foreign  ministers,  and  all  the  nobility  of  the  kingdom,  were 
present,  together  with  an  immense  concourse  of  soldiery, 
clergy,  and  populace.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Bishop 
of  Cuenca.  When  it  was  finished,  Inquisitor  General  Valclez 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Oh  God,  make  speed  to  help  us  !"f 
The  King  then  drew  his  sword.  Valclez,  advancing  to  the 
platform  upon  which  Philip  was  seated,  proceeded  to  read  the 
protestation:  "Your  Majesty  swears  by  the  cross  of  the  sword, 
whereon  your  royal  hand  reposes,  that  you  will  give  all  neces- 
sary favor  to  the  holy  office  of  the  inquisition  against  heretics, 
apostates,  and  those  who  favor  them,  and  will  denounce  and 
inform  against  all  those  who,  to  your  royal  knowledge,  shall 
act  or  speak  against  the  faith/'J  The  King  answered  aloud, 
"  I  swear  it,"  and  signed  the  paper.  The  oath  was  read  to 
the  whole  assembly  by  an  officer  of  the  inquisition.  Thirteen 
distinguished  victims  were  then  burned  before  the  monarch's 
eyes,  besides  one  body  which  a  friendly  death  had  snatched 
from  the  hands  of  the  holy  office,  and  the  effigy  of  another 
person  who  had  been  condemned,  although  not  yet  tried 
or  even  apprehended.  Among  the  sufferers  was  Carlos  de 
Sessa,  a  young  noble  of  distinguished  character  and  abilities, 
who  said  to  the  King  as  he  passed  by  the  throne  to  the  stake, 
"  How  can  you  thus  look  on  and  permit  me  to  be  burned  ?'' 
Philip  then  made  the  memorable  reply,  carefully  recorded  by 
his  historiographer  and  panegyrist  ;  "  I  would  carry  the  wood 
to  burn  my  own  son  withal,  were  he  as  wicked  as  you  "§ 

In  Seville,  immediately  afterwards,  another  auto-da-fe  was 
held,  in  which  fifty  living  heretics  were  burned,  besides  the 

*  Cabrera,  iv.  209.  \  "  Domine  adjuva  nos." — Cabrera,  v.  235.  J  Ibid. 

§  "Yo  traere  lena  para  quemar  a  mi  liijo  si  fuere  tan  malo  conio  vos."— 
Cabrera,  v.  236. 


1559.]  NUPTIAL  TORCHES,  223 

bones  of  Doctor  Constantine  Ponce  de  la  Fuente,  once  the 
friend,  chaplain,  and  almoner  of  Philip's  father.  This  learned 
and  distinguished  ecclesiastic  had  been  released  from  a  dread- 
ful dungeon  by  a  fortunate  fever.  The  holy  office,  however,  not 
content  with  punishing  his  corpse,  wreaked  also  an  impotent 
and  ludicrous  malice  upon  his  effigy.  A  stuffed  figure,  attired 
in  his  robes  and  with  its  arms  extended  in  the  attitude  which 
was  habitual  with  him  in  prayer,  was  placed  upon  the  scaffold 
among  the  living  victims,  and  then  cast  into  the  flames,  that 
bigotry  might  enjoy  a  fantastic  triumph  over  the  grave. 

Such  were  the  religious  ceremonies  with  which  Philip  cele- 
brated his  escape  from  shipwreck,  and  his  marriage  with 
Isabella  of  France,  immediately  afterwards  solemnized.  These 
human  victims,  chained  and  burning  at  the  stake,  were  the 
blazing  torches  which  lighted  the  monarch  to  his  nuptial 
couch.* 


*  Hoofd,  i.  27.  Meteren,  i.  25.  Bor,  i.  23.  De  Thou,  iii.  410-413,  xxiii. 
Cabrera,  iv.  209,  and  v.  235,  sqq. — Compare  Llorenle  (Hist.  Crit.  de  l'lnquis., 
ii.  xviii.  xx.  and  xxi.),  who  has  corrected  many  errors  made  by  preceding 
historiana 


P  A  KT     II 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   THE  DUCHESS   MARGARET. 
1559—1567. 


15 


CHAPTER  I. 


Biographical  sketch  and  portrait  of  Margaret  of  Parma — The  state  council — • 
Berlaymont — Viglius — Sketch  of  William  the  Silent — Portrait  of  Antony 
Perrenot,  afterwards  Cardinal  Granvelle — General  view  of  the  political, 
social  and  religious  condition  of  the  Netherlands — Habits  of  the  aristocracy 
— Emulation  in  extravagance — Pecuniary  embarrassments — Sympathy  for 
the  Reformation,  steadily  increasing  among  the  people,  the  true  cause  of 
the  impending  revolt — Measures  of  the  government — Edict  of  1550  described 
— Papal  Bulls  granted  to  Philip  for  increasing  the  number  of  Bishops  in  the 
Netherlands — Necessity  for  retaining  the  Spanish  troops  to  enforce  the 
policy  of  persecution. 

Margaret  of  Parma,  newly  appointed  Eegent  of  the  Nether- 
lands, was  the  natural  daughter  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  and 
his  eldest  born  child.  Her  mother,  of  a  respectable  family- 
called  Van  der  Genst,  in  Oudenarde,  had  been  adopted  and 
brought  up  by  the  distinguished  house  of  Hoogstraaten. 
Peculiar  circumstances,  not  necessary  to  relate  at  length,  had 
palliated  the  fault  to  which  Margaret  owed  her  imperial  origin, 
and  gave  the  child  almost  a  legitimate  claim  upon  its  father's 
protection.  The  claim  was  honorably  acknowledged.  Margaret 
was  in  her  infancy  placed  by  the  Emperor  in  the  charge  of  his 
paternal  aunt,  Margaret  of  Savoy,  then  Regent  of  the  provinces. 
Upon  the  death  of  that  princess,  the  child  was  entrusted  to  the 
care  of  the  Emperor's  sister,  Mary,  Queen  Dowager  of  Hungary, 
who  had  succeeded  to  the  government,  and  who  occupied  it 
until  the  abdication.  The  huntress-queen  communicated  her 
tastes  to  her  youthful  niece,  and  Margaret  soon  outrivalled  her 
instructress.      The  ardor  with  which  she  pursued   the  stag, 


228  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

and  the  courageous  horsemanship  which  she  always  displayed, 
proved  her,  too,  no  degenerate  descendant  of  Mary  of  Burgundy. 
Her  education  for  the  distinguished  position  in  which  she  had 
somewhat  surreptitiously  been  placed  was  at  least  not  neglected 
in  this  particular.  When,  soon  after  the  memorable  sack  of 
Rome,  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor  had  been  reconciled,  and  it 
had  been  decided  that  the  Medici  family  should  be  elevated 
upon  the  ruins  of  Florentine  liberty,  Margaret's  hand  was 
conferred  in  marriage  upon  the  pontiff's  nephew  Alexander. 
The  wretched  profligate  who  was  thus  selected  to  mate  with 
the  Emperor's  eldest  born  child  and  to  appropriate  the  fair 
demesnes  of  the  Tuscan  republic  was  nominally  the  offspring 
of  Lorenzo  de  Medici  by  a  Moorish  slave,  although  generally 
reputed  a  bastard  of  the  Pope  himself.  The  nuptials  were 
celebrated  with  great  pomp  at  Naples,  where  the  Emperor 
rode  at  the  tournament  in  the  guise  of  a  Moorish  warrior. 
At  Florence  splendid  festivities  had  also  been  held,  which 
were  troubled  with  omens  believed  to  be  highly  unfavor- 
able. It  hardly  needed,  however,  preternatural  appearances 
in  heaven  or  on  earth  to  proclaim  the  marriage  ill-starred 
which  united  a  child  of  twelve  years  with  a  worn-out  debauchee 
of  twenty-seven.  Fortunately  for  Margaret,  the  funereal 
portents  proved  true.  Her  husband,  within  the  first  year  of  then- 
wedded  life,  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  profligacy,  and  was 
assassinated  by  his  kinsman,  Lorenzino  de  Medici.  Cosmo, 
his  successor  in  the  tyranny  of  Florence,  was  desirous  of  suc- 
ceeding to  the  hand  of  Margaret,  but  the  politic  Emperor, 
thinking  that  he  had  already  done  enough  to  conciliate 
that  house,  was  inclined  to  bind  to  his  interests  the  family 
which  now  occupied  the  papal  throne.  Margaret  was  accord- 
ingly a  few  years  afterwards  united  to  Ottavio  Farnese, 
nephew  of  Paul  the  Third.  It  was  still  her  fate  to  be  un- 
equally matched.  Having  while  still  a  child  been  wedded  to 
a  man  of  more  than  twice  her  years,  she  was  now,  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  united  to  an  immature  youth  of  thirteen.  She  con- 
ceived so  strong  an  aversion  to  her  new  husband,  that  it  became 
impossible  for  them  to  live  together  in  peace.     Ottavio  accord- 


1559.]  MARGARET    OF    PARMA.  229 

ingly  went  to  the  wars,  and  in  1541  accompanied  the  Emperor 
in  his  memorable  expedition  to  Barbary. 

Kumors  of  disaster  by  battle  and  tempest  reaching  Europe 
before  the  results  of  the  expedition  were  accurately  known,  re- 
ports that  the  Emperor  had  been  lost  in  a  storm,  and  that  the 
young  Ottavio  had  perished  with  him,  awakened  remorse  in 
the  bosom  of  Margaret.  It  seemed  to  her  that  he  had  been 
driven  forth  by  domestic  inclemency  to  fall  a  victim  to  the 
elements.  When,  however,  the  truth  became  known,  and  it 
was  ascertained  that  her  husband,  although  still  living,  was 
lying  dangerously  ill  in  the  charge  of  the  Emperor,  the  re- 
pugnance which  had  been  founded  upon  his  extreme  youth 
changed  to  passionate  fondness.  His  absence,  and  his  faithful 
military  attendance  upon  her  father,  caused  a  revulsion  in  her 
feelings,  and  awakened  her  admiration.  When  Ottavio,  now 
created  Duke  of  Parma  and  Piacenza,  returned  to  Borne,  he 
was  received  by  his  wife  with  open  arms.  Their  union  was 
soon  blessed  with  twins,  and  but  for  a  certain  imperiousness  of 
disposition  which  Margaret  had  inherited  from  her  father,  and 
which  she  was  too  apt  to  exercise  even  upon  her  husband,  the 
marriage  would  have  been  sufficiently  fortunate.* 

Various  considerations  pointed  her  out  to  Philip  as  a  suit- 
able person  for  the  office  of  Regent,  although  there  seemed 
some  mystery  about  the  appointment  which  demanded  expla- 
nation. It  was  thought  that  her  birth  woidd  make  her  accept- 
able to  the  people  ;  but  perhaps,  the  secret  reason  with 
Philip  was,  that  she  alone  of  all  other  candidates  would  be 
amenable  to  the  control  of  the  churchman  in  whose  hand  he 
intended  placing  the  real  administration  of  the  provinces. 
Moreover,  her  husband  was  very  desirous  that  the  citadel  of 
Piacenza,  still  garrisoned  by  Spanish  troops,  should  be  surren- 
dered to  him.  Philip  was  disposed  to  conciliate  the  Duke, 
but  unwilling  to  give  up  the  fortress.  He  felt  that  Ottavio 
would  be  flattered  by  the  nomination  of  his  wife  to  so  im- 
portant an  office,  and  be  not  too  much  dissatisfied  at  find- 


*  Stada,  i.  35-44. 


230  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

ing  himself  relieved  for  a  time  from  her  imperiuus  fondness. 
Her  residence  in  the  Netherlands  would  guarantee  domestic 
tranquillity  to  her  husband,  and  peace  in  Italy  to  the  King. 
Margaret  would  he  a  hostage  for  the  fidelity  of  the  Duke,  who 
had,  moreover,  given  his  eldest  son  to  Philip  to  he  educated 
in  his  service. 

She  was  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age  when  she  arrived  in 
the  Netherlands,  with  the  reputation  of  possessing  high 
talents,  and  a  proud  and  energetic  character.*  She  was  an  en- 
thusiastic Catholic,  and  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  Loyola,  who  had 
been  her  confessor  and  spiritual  guide.  She  felt  a  greater 
horror  for  heretics  than  for  any  other  species  of  malefactors, 
and  looked  up  to  her  father's  bloody  edicts  as  if  they  had 
been  special  revelations  from  on  high.  She  was  most 
strenuous  in  her  observance  of  Eoman  rites,  and  was  accus- 
tomed to  wash  the  feet  of  twelve  virgins  every  holy  week, 
and  to  endow  them  in  marriage  afterwards.  -J-  Her  acquire- 
ments, save  that  of  the  art  of  horsemanship,  were  not  re- 
markable. 

Carefully  educated  in  the  Machiavellian  and  Medicean 
school  of  politics,  she  was  versed  in  that  "  dissimulation," 
to  which  liberal  Anglo-Saxons  give  a  shorter  name,  but 
which  formed  the  main  substance  of  statesmanship  at  the 
court  of  Charles  and  Philip.  In  other  respects  her  accom- 
plishments were  but  meagre,  and  she  had  little  acquaintance 
with  any  language  but  Italian.  Her  personal  appearance, 
which  was  masculine,  but  not  without  a  certain  grand  and 
imperial  fascination,  harmonized  with  the  opinion  generally 
entertained  of  her  character.  The  famous  moustache  upon 
her  upper  lip+  was  supposed  to  indicate  authority  and  virility 
of  purpose,  an  impression  which  was  confirmed  by  the  circum- 
stance that  she  was  liable  to  severe  attacks  of  gout,  a  disorder 
usually  considered  more  appropriate  to  the  sterner  sex.§ 


*  Strada,  i.  42.  •  f  Ibid. 

%   "  Nee  deerat  aliqua  mento  superiorique  labello  barbula,  ex   qua  virilis  ei 
non  magis  species  quam  auctoritas  conciliabatur." — Strada,  i.  42.  §  Ibid 


1559.]  BERLAYMONT   AND   VIGLIUS.  231 

Such  were  the  previous  career  and  public  reputation  of  the 
Duchess  Margaret.  It  remains  to  be  unfolded  whether  her 
character  and  endowments,  as  exemplified  in  her  new  position, 
were  to  justify  the  choice  of  Philip. 

The  members  of  the  state  council,  as  already  observed,  were 
Berlaymont,  Viglius,  Arras,  Orange,  and  Egmont. 

The  first  was,  likewise,  chief  of  the  finance  department. 
Most  of  the  Catholic  writers  described  him  as  a  noble  of  loyal 
and  highly  honorable  character.  Those  of  the  Protestant 
party,  on  the  contrary,  uniformly  denounced  him  as  greedy, 
avaricious,  and  extremely  sanguinary.  That  he  was  a  brave 
and  devoted  soldier,  a  bitter  papist,  and  an  inflexible  adherent 
to  the  royal  cause,  has  never  been  disputed.  The  Baron  him- 
self, with  his  four  courageous  and  accomplished  sons,  were  ever 
in  the  front  ranks  to  defend  the  crown  against  the  nation.  It 
must  be  confessed,  however,  that  fanatical  loyalty  loses  most 
of  the  romance  with  which  genius  and  poetry  have  so  often 
hallowed  the  sentiment,  when  the  "legitimate"  prince  for 
whom  the  sword  is  drawn  is  not  only  an  alien  in  tongue  and 
blood,  but  filled  with  undisguised  hatred  for  the  land  he  claims 
to  rule. 

Viglius  van  Aytta  van  Zuichem  was  a  learned  Frisian,  born, 
according  to  some  writers,  of  "boors'  degree,  but  having  no 
inclination  for  boorish  work."*  According  to  other  authorities, 
which  the  President  himself  favored,  he  was  of  noble  origin  ; 
but,  whatever  his  race,  it  is  certain  that  whether  gentle  or 
simple,  it  derived  its  first  and  only  historical  illustration  from 
his  remarkable  talents  and  acquirements.  These  in  early  youth 
were  so  great  as  to  acquire  the  commendation  of  Erasmus, 
He  had  studied  in  Louvain,  Paris,  and  Padua,  had  refused  the 
tutorship  of  Philip  when  that  prince  was  still  a  child,  and  had 
afterwards  filled  a  professorship  at  Ingolstadt.  After  re- 
jecting several  offers  of  promotion  from  the  Emperor,  he 
had  at  last  accepted  in  1542  a  seat  in  the  council  of  Mechlin, 
of  which  body  he  had  become  president  in  1545.      He  had 


*  Levensbesch.     Nederl.  Man.  en  Vrouwen.  iv.  75. 


232  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

been  one  of  the  peace  commissioners  to  France  in  1558,  and 
was  now  president  of  the  privy  council,  a  member  of  the 
state  council,  and  of  the  inner  and  secret  committee  of 
that  board,  called  the  Consulta.  Much  odium  was  attached 
to  his  name  for  his  share  in  the  composition  of  the  famous 
edict  of  1550.  The  rough  draught  was  usually  attributed  to  his 
pen,  but  he  complained  bitterly,  in  letters  written  at  this 
time,  of  injustice  done  him  in  this  respect,  and  maintained  that 
he  had  endeavored,  without  success,  to  induce  the  Emperor  to 
mitigate  the  severity  of  the  edict.  One  does  not  feel  very 
strongly  inclined  to  accept  his  excuses,  however,  when  his 
general  opinions  on  the  subject  of  religion  are  remembered. 
He  was  most  bigoted  in  precept  and  practice.  Religious 
liberty  he  regarded  as  the  most  detestable  and  baleful  of  doc- 
trines ;  heresy  he  denounced  as  the  most  unpardonable  of 
crimes. 

From  no  man's  mouth  flowed  more  bitter  or  more  elegant 
commonplaces  than  from  that  of  the  learned  president  against 
those  blackest  of  malefactors,  the  men  who  claimed  within 
their  own  walls  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  their 
own  consciences.  For  a  common  person,  not  learned  in  law 
or  divinity,  to  enter  into  his  closet,  to  shut  the  door,  and 
to  pray  to  Him  who  seeth  in  secret,  was,  in  his  opinion,  to  open 
wide  the  gate  of  destruction  for  all  the  land,  and  to  bring  in 
the  Father  of  Evil  at  once  to  fly  away  with  the  whole  popula- 
tion, body  and  soul.  "  If  every  man,"  said  he  to  Hopper, 
"  is  to  believe  what  he  likes  in  his  own  house,  we  shall  have 
hearth  gods  and  tutelar  divinities*  again,  the  country  will 
swarm  with  a  thousand  errors  and  sects,  and  very  few  there 
will  be,  I  fear,  who  will  allow  themselves  to  be  enclosed  in  the 
sheepfold  of  Christ.  I  have  ever  considered  this  opinion," 
continued  the  president,  "  the  most  pernicious  of  all.  They 
who  hold  it  have  a  contempt  for  all  religion,  and  are  neither 
more  nor  less  than  atheists.  This  vague,  fireside  liberty  should 
be  by  every  possible  means  extirpated  ;  therefore  did  Christ 


lares  lemuresque,"  etc. — Ep.  ad  Hopp.,  421. 


1559.]  THE   NASSAU   FAMILY.  233 

institute  shepherds  to  drive  his  wandering  sheep  back  into  the 
fold  of  the  true  Church  ;  thus  only  can  we  guard  the  lambs 
against  the  ravening  wolves,  and  prevent  their  being  carried 
away  from  the  flock  of  Christ  to  the  flock  of  Belial.  Liberty 
of  religion,  or  of  conscience,  as  they  call  it,  ought  never  to  be 
tolerated."* 

This  was  the  cant  with  which  Viglius  was  ever  ready  to 
feed  not  only  his  faithful  Hopper,  but  all  the  world  beside.  The 
president  was  naturally  anxious  that  the  fold  of  Christ  should 
be  entrusted  to  none  but  regular  shepherds,  for  he  looked  for- 
ward to  taking  one  of  the  most  lucrative  crooks  into  his  own 
hand,  when  he  should  retire  from  his  secular  career. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  say  a  few  introductory  words  con- 
cerning the  man  who,  from  this  time  forth,  begins  to  rise  upon 
the  history  of  his  country  with  daily  increasing  grandeur  and 
influence.  William  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange,  although 
still  young  in  years,  is  already  the  central  personage  about 
whom  the  events  and  the  characters  of  the  epoch  most 
naturally  group  themselves  ;  destined  as  he  is  to  become  more 
and  more  with  each  succeeding  year  the  vivifying  source  of 
light,  strength,  and  national  life  to  a  whole  people. 

The  Nassau  family  first  emerges  into  distinct  existence  in 
the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century.  It  divides  itself  almost 
as  soon  as  known  into  two  great  branches.  The  elder 
remained  in  Germany,  ascended  the  imperial  throne  in  the 
thirteenth  century  in  the  person  of  Adolph  of  Nassau  and 
gave  to  the  country  many  electors,  bishops,  and  generals.  The 
younger  and  more  illustrious  branch  retained  the  modest  prop- 
erty and  petty  sovereignty  of  Nassau  Dillenbourg,  but  at 
the  same  time  transplanted  itself  to  the  Netherlands,  where 
it  attained  at  an  early  period  to  great  power  and  large  pos- 
sessions. The  ancestors  of  William,  as  Dukes  of  Gueldres, 
had    begun   to   exercise    sovereignty  in   the    provinces    four 


*  Viglii  Epist.  ad  Joach.  Hopperum,  p.  421,  422. — Compare  Tit.  Viglii  ab  ipso 
Viglio  Script,  (apud  Hoynck,  i.)  1-33 ;  Viglii  Epist.  Select,  ad  Diversos,  cxlviil ; 
Levensb.  NederL  Man.  en  Vrouw.,  iv.  75-82;  Vander  Vynckt,  i.  127. 


234:  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

centuries  before  the  advent  of  the  house  of  Burgundy.* 
That  overshadowing  family  afterwards  numbered  the  Nether- 
land  Nassaus  among  its  most  stanch  and  powerful  adherents. 
Engelbert  the  Second  was  distinguished  in  the  turbulent 
councils  and  in  the  battle-fields  of  Charles  the  Bold,  and 
was  afterwards  the  unwavering  supporter  of  Maximilian, 
in  court  and  camp.  Dying  childless,  he  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother  John,  whose  two  sons,  Henry  and  William,  of 
Nassau,  divided  the  great  inheritance  after  their  father's  death, 
William  succeeded  to  the  German  estates,  became  a  convert 
to  Protestantism,  and  introduced  the  Beformation  into  his 
dominions.  Henry,  the  eldest  son,  received  the  family  pos- 
sessions and  titles  in  Luxembourg,  Brabant,  Flanders  and 
Holland,  and  distinguished  himself  as  much  as  his  uncle 
Engelbert,  in  the  service  of  the  Burgundo-Austrian  house. 
The  confidential  friend  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  whose  governor 
he  had  been  in  that  Emperor's  boyhood,  he  was  ever  his  most 
efficient  and  reliable  adherent.  It  was  he  whose  influence 
placed  the  imperial  crown  upon  the  head  of  Charles.f  In  1515 
he  espoused  Claudia  de  Chalons,  sister  of  Prince  Philibert  of 
Orange,  "  in  order,"  as  he  wrote  to  his  father,  "  to  be  obedient 
to  his  imperial  Majesty,  to  please  the  King  of  France,  and 
more  particularly  for  the  sake  of  his  own  honor  and  profit."% 
His  son  Bene  de  Nassau-Chalons  succeeded  Philibert.  The 
little  principality  of  Orange,  so  pleasantly  situated  between 
Provence  and  Dauphiny,  but  in  such  dangerous  proximity  to 
the  seat  of  the  "  Babylonian  captivity"  of  the  popes  at 
Avignon,  thus  passed '  to  the  family  of  Nassau.      The   title 


*  Apologie  d'Orange,  42. 

t  " c'est  lui  qui  a  mis  la  couronne  imperiale  sur  la  teste  de  l'Empereur 

.  .  .  il  persuada  les  electeurs  de  preferer  l'Empereur  au  Roi  de  France.  .  .  Et 
comme  il  est  notoire  a.  un  chacun  que  ceste  couronue  imperiale  a  este  le  pont  qui 
par  apres  a  faict  passage  a  l'Empereur  pour  tant  de  conquestes,"  etc. — Apo- 
logie, 23 

X  " om  geeoirsam  te  zyn  der  Keis.  Maj.  ende  ooc  om  te  wille  te  zyn  deu 

Conic  van  Vrancryk  ende  sonderling  om  myner  eeren  en  de  prouffyts  vrille." 
— Arnoldi,  Hist.  Denk.,  p.  187.  Groen  v.  Prinsterer,  Archives,  etc.  i.  64* 
note  2 


1559.]  HIGH    FORTUNES   OF   ORANGE.  235 

was  of  high  antiquity.  Already  in  the  reign  of  Charle- 
magne, Gruillaiime  au  Court-Nez,  or  "  William  with  the  Short 
Nose,"  had  defended  the  little  town  of  Orange  against 
the  assaults  of  the  Saracens.  The  interest  and  authority 
acquired  in  the  demesnes  thus  preserved  by  his  valor  be- 
came extensive,  and  in  process  of  time  hereditary  in  his 
race.  The  principality  became  an  absolute  and  free  sover- 
eignty,0 and  had  already  descended,  in  defiance  of  the  Salic 
law,  through  the  three  distinct  families  of  Orange,  Baux,  and 
Chalons, 

In  1544,  Prince  Rene  died  at  the  Emperor's  feet  in  the 
trenches  of  Saint  Dizier.  Having  no  legitimate  children,  he 
left  all  his  titles  and  estates  to  his  cousin  -german,  William  of 
Nassau,  son  of  his  father's  brother  William,  who  thus  at  the 
age  of  eleven  years  became  William  the  Ninth  of  Orange. 
For  this  child,  whom  the  future  was  to  summon  to  such  high 
destinies  and  such  heroic  sacrifices,  the  past  and  present 
seemed  to  have  gathered  riches  and  power  together  from  many 
sources.  He  was  the  descendant  of  the  Othos,  the  Engelberts, 
and  the  Henries,  of  the  Netherlands,  the  representative  of 
the  Philiberts  and  the  Renes  of  France  ;  the  chief  of  a  house, 
humbler  in  resources  and  position  in  Germany,  but  still  of 
high  rank,  and  which  had  already  done  good  service  to  human- 
ity by  being  among  the  first  to  embrace  the  great  principles 
of  the  Eeformation. 

His  father,  younger  brother  of  the  Emperor's  friend  Henry, 
was  called  William  the  Rich.  He  was,  however,  only  rich  in 
children.  Of  these  he  had  five  sons  and  seven  daughters  by 
his  wife  Juliana  of  Stolberg.  She  was  a  person  of  most 
exemplary  character  and  unaffected  piety.  She  instilled  into 
the  minds  of  all  her  children  the  elements  of  that  devotional 
sentiment  which  was  her  own  striking  characteristic,  and  it 


*  " et  moins  m'a  il  (l'Empereur)   peu  favoriser   en  mon  principaulte 

d'Orange,  ou  il  n'avoit  rien  a  veoir  ni  lui  ni  prince  quelconque,  le  tenant  en  souve- 
rainete  nue  et  absolue,  ce  que  peu  d'autrea  seigneurs  pourront  dire." — Apo 
logie,  15 


236  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

was  destined  that  the  seed  sown  early  should  increase  to  an 
abundant  harvest.  Nothing  can  be  more  tender  or  more 
touching  than  the  letters  which  still  exist  from  her  hand, 
written  to  her  illustrious  sons  in  hours  of  anxiety  or  anguish, 
and  to  the  last,  recommending  to  them  with  as  much  earnest 
simplicity  as  if  they  were  still  little  children  at  her  knee, 
to  rely  always  in  the  midst  of  the  trials  and  dangers  which 
were  to  beset  their  paths  through  life,  upon  the  great  hand 
of  God.  Among  the  mothers  of  great  men,  Juliana  of  Stol- 
berg  deserves  a  foremost  place,  and  it  is  no  slight  eulogy 
that  she  was  worthy  to  have  been  the  mother  of  William 
of  Orange  and  of  Lewis,  Adolphus,  Henry,  and  John  of 
Nassau. 

At  the  age  of  eleven  years,  William  having  thus  unex- 
pectedly succeeded  to  such  great  possessions,  was  sent  from 
his  father's  roof  to  be  educated  in  Brussels.  No  destiny 
seemed  to  lie  before  the  young  prince  but  an  education  at  the 
Emperor's  court,  to  be  followed  by  military  adventures,  em- 
bassies, viceroyalties,  and  a  life  of  luxury  and  magnificence. 
At  a  very  early  age  he  came,  accordingly,  as  a  page  into  the 
Emperor's  family.  Charles  recognized,  with  his  customary 
quickness,  the  remarkable  character  of  the  boy.  At  fifteen, 
William  was  the  intimate,  almost  confidential  friend  of  the 
Emperor,  who  prided  himself,  above  all  other  gifts,  on  his 
power  of  reading  and  of  using  men.  The  youth  was  so  con- 
stant an  attendant  upon  his  imperial  chief  that  even  when 
interviews  with  the  highest  personages,  and  upon  the  gravest 
affairs,  were  taking  place,  Charles  would  never  suffer  him  to 
be  considered  superfluous  or  intrusive.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  secrets  which  the  Emperor  held  too  high  for  the  com- 
prehension or  discretion  of  his  page.  His  perceptive  and 
reflective  faculties,  naturally  of  remarkable  keenness  and 
depth,  thus  acquired  a  precocious  and  extraordinary  develop- 
ment. He  was  brought  up  behind  the  curtain  of  that  great 
stage  where  the  world's  dramas  were  daily  enacted.  The 
machinery  and  the  masks  which  produced  the  grand  delusions 
of  history  had  no  deceptions  for  him.     Carefully  to  observe 


1559.]  HIS   EARLY   DISTINCTION.  287 

men's  actions,  and  silently  to  ponder  upon  their  motives,  was 
the  favorite  occupation  -of  the  Prince  during  his  apprentice- 
ship at  court.  As  he  advanced  to  man's  estate,  he  was  selected 
by  the  Emperor  for  the  highest  duties.  Charles,  whose  only 
merit,  so  far  as  the  provinces  were  concerned,  was  in  having 
been  born  in  Ghent,  and  that  by  an  ignoble  accident,  was 
glad  to  employ  this  representative  of  so  many  great  Nether- 
land  houses,  in  the  defence  of  the  land.  Before  the  Prince  was 
twenty-one  he  was  appointed  general-in-chief  of  the  army  on 
the  French  frontier,  in  the  absence  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy. 
The  post  was  coveted  by  many  most  distinguished  soldiers — 
the  Counts  of  Buren,  Bossu,  Lalaing,  Aremberg,  Meghem, 
and  particularly  by  Count  Egmont  ;*  yet  Charles  showed  his 
extraordinary  confidence  in  the  Prince  of  Orange,  by  selecting 
him  for  the  station,  although  he  had  hardly  reached  maturity, 
and  was  moreover  absent  in  France.  The  young  Prince  ac- 
quitted himself  of  his  high  command  in  a  manner  which  justi- 
fied his  appointment. 

It  was  the  Prince's  shoulder  upon  which  the  Emperor 
leaned  at  the  abdication  ;  the  Prince's  hand  which  bore  the 
imperial  insignia  of  the  discrowned  monarch  to  Ferdinand,  at 
Augsburg.  With  these  duties  his  relations  with  Charles 
were  ended,  and  those  with  Philip  begun.  He  was  with  the 
army  during  the  hostilities  which  were  soon  after  resumed  in 
Picardy ;  he  was  the  secret  negotiator  of  the  preliminary 
arrangement  with  France,  soon  afterwards  confirmed  by  the 
triumphant  treaty  of  April,  1559.  He  had  conducted  these 
initiatory  conferences  with  the  Constable  Montmorency  and 
Marshal  de  Saint  Andre  with  great  sagacity,  although  hardly 
a  man  in  years,  and  by  so  doing  he  had  laid  Philip  under 
deep  obligations.  The  King  was  so  inexpressibly  anxious  for 
peace  that  he  would  have  been  capable  of  conducting  a  treaty 
upon  almost  any  terms.  He  assured  the  Prince  that  "the 
greatest  service  he  could  render  him  in  this  world  was  to 
make  peace,  and  that  he  desired  to  have  it  at  any  price  what- 

*  Apologie,  29. 


238  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [155  . 

ever,  so  eager  was  he  to  return  to  Spain."*  To  the  envoy 
Suriano,  Philip  had  held  the  same  language.  "  Oh,  Ambas- 
sador/' said  he,  "  I  wish  peace  on  any  terms,  and  if  the  King 
of  France  had  not  sued  for  it,  I  would  have  begged  for  it 
myself."f 

With  such  impatience  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign,  it 
certainly  manifested  diplomatic  abilities  of  a  high  character  in 
the  Prince,  that  the  treaty  negotiated  by  him  amounted  to  a 
capitulation  by  France.  He  was  one  of  the  hostages  selected 
by  Henry  for  the  due  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  while  in 
France  made  that  remarkable  discovery  which  was  to  color  his 
life.  While  hunting  with  the  King  in  the  forest  of  Vincennes, 
the  Prince  and  Henry  found  themselves  alone  together,  and 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  company.  The  French  mon- 
arch's mind  was  full  of  the  great  scheme  which  had  just 
secretly  been  formed  by  Philip  and  himself,  to  extirpate 
Protestantism  by  a  general  extirpation  of  Protestants.  Philip 
had  been  most  anxious  to  conclude  the  public  treaty  with 
France,  that  he  might  be  the  sooner  able  to  negotiate  that 
secret  convention  by  which  he  and  his  Most  Christian  Majesty 
were  solemnly  to  bind  themselves  to  massacre  all  the  converts 
to  the  new  religion  in  France  and  the  Netherlands.  This 
conspiracy  of  the  two  Kings  against  their  subjects  was  the 
matter  nearest  the  hearts  of  both.  The  Duke  of  Alva,  a 
fellow  hostage  with  William  of  Orange,  was  the  pleni- 
potentiary to  conduct  this  more  important  arrangement. 
The  French  monarch,  somewhat  imprudently  imagining  that 
the  Prince  was  also  a  party  to  the  plot,  opened  the  whole 
subject  to  him  without  reserve.  He  complained  of  the  con- 
stantly increasing  numbers  of  sectaries  in  his  kingdom,  and 
protested  that  his  conscience  would  never  be  easy,  nor  his 
state  secure  until  his  realm  should  be  delivered  of  "  that 


*  Apologie  d'Orange,  49. 

f  " Se  ben  era  cosi  poco  honorevole  fu  gran  cosa  quella  ch'  io  serissi  al 

Settembre  passato  che  mi  disse  S.  M1*,  nelT  esercito  con  queste  parole  6  simili  ; 
o  Imbasciatore,  io  voglio  pace  in  ogni  modo  e  s'il  Re  di  Francia  no  l'havesse 
domandata,  la  domanderei  io." — Suriano  MS- 


1559.]  THE    SILENT   PRINCE.  239 

accursed  vermin."  A  civil  revolution,  under  pretext  of  a 
religious  reformation,  was  his  constant  apprehension,  particu- 
larly since  so  many  notable  personages  in  the  realm,  and  even 
princes  of  the  blood,  were  already  tainted  with  heresy.  Never- 
theless, with  the  favor  of  heaven,  and  the  assistance  of  his  son 
and  brother  Philip,  he  hoped  soon  to  be  master  of  the  rebels. 
The  King  then  proceeded,  with  cynical  minuteness,  to  lay 
before  his  discreet  companion  the  particulars  of  the  royal 
plot,  and  the  manner  in  which  all  heretics,  whether  high  or 
humble,  were  to  be  discovered  and  massacred  at  the  most  con- 
venient season.  For  the  furtherance  of  the  scheme  in  the 
Netherlands,  it  was  understood  that  the  Spanish  regiments 
woidd  be  exceedingly  efficient.  The  Prince,  although  horror- 
struck  and  indignant  at  the  royal  revelations,  held  his  peace, 
and  kept  his  countenance.  The  King  was  not  aware  that,  in 
opening  this  delicate  negotiation  to  Alva's  colleague  and 
Philip's  plenipotentiary,  he  had  given  a  warning  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  the  man  who  had  been  born  to  resist  the  machina- 
tions of  Philip  and  of  Alva.  AVilliam  of  Orange  earned  the 
surname  of  "the  Silent,"  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
received  these  communications  of  Henry  without  revealing  to 
the  monarch,  by  word  or  look,  the  enormous  blunder  which  he 
had  committed.  His  purpose  was  fixed  from  that  hour.  A 
few  clays  afterwards  he  obtained  permission  to  visit  the 
Netherlands,  where  he  took  measures  to  excite,  with  all  his 
influence,  the  strongest  and  most  general  opposition  to  the 
continued  presence  of  the  Spanish  troops,*  of  which  forces, 
much  against  his  will,  he  had  been,  in  conjunction  with 
Egmont,  appointed  chief.  He  already  felt,  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, that  "an  inquisition  for  the  Netherlands  had  been 
resolved  upon  more  cruel  than  that  of  Spain  ;  since  it  would 
need  but  to  look  askance  at  an  image  to  be  cast  into  the 
flames."f  Although  having  as  yet  no  spark  of  religious 
sympathy  for  the  reformers,  he  could  not,  he  said,  "  but  feel 
compassion  for  so  many  virtuous  men  and  women  thus  devoted 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS.,  8-13.  t  Apolagie,  54. 


240  THE   RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

to  massacre,"*  and  he  determined  to  save  them  if  he  could  ! 
At  the  departure  of  Philip  he  had  received  instructions, 
both  patent  and  secret,  for  his  guidance  as  stadholder  of 
Holland,  Friesland,  and  Utrecht.  He  was  ordered  "most 
expressly  to  correct  and  extirpate  the  sects  reprobated  by  our 
Holy  Mother  Church ;  to  execute  the  edicts  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  renewed  by  the  King,  with  absolute  rigor.  He  was 
to  see  that  the  judges  carried  out  the  edicts,  without  infrac- 
tion, alteration,  or  moderation,  since  they  were  there  to  en- 
force, not  to  make  or  to  discuss  the  law."  In  his  secret  instruc- 
tions he  was  informed  that  the  execution  of  the  edicts  was  to 
be  with  all  rigor,  and  without  any  respect  of  persons.  He  was 
also  reminded  that,  whereas  some  persons  had  imagined  the 
severity  of  the  law  "  to  be  only  intended  against  Anabaptists, 
on  the  contrary,  the  edicts  were  to  be  enforced  on  Lutherans 
and  all  other  sectaries  without  distinction."f  Moreover,  in 
one  of  Ins  last  interviews  with  Philip,  the  King  had  given 
him  the  names  of  several  "  excellent  persons  suspected  of  the 
new  religion,"  and  had  commanded  him  to  have  them  put  to 
death.  This,  however,  he  not  only  omitted  to  do,  but  on  the 
contrary  gave  them  warning,  so  that  they  might  effect  their 
escape,  "  thinking  it  more  necessary  to  obey  God  than  man."+ 
William  of  Orange,  at  the  departure  of  the  King  for  Spain, 
was  in  his  twenty-seventh  year.  He  was  a  widower  ;  his  first 
wife,  Anne  of  Egmont,  having  died  in  1558,  after  seven  years 
of  wedlock.  This  lady,  to  whom  he  had  been  united  when 
they  were  both  eighteen  years  of  age,  was  the  daughter  of  the 
celebrated  general,  Count  de  Buren,  and  the  greatest  heiress 
in  the  Netherlands.  William  had  thus  been  faithful  to  the 
family  traditions,  and  had  increased  his  possessions  by  £ 
wealthy  alliance.  He  had  two  children,  Philip  and  Mary. 
The  marriage  had  been  more  amicable  than  princely  marriages 
arranged  for  convenience  often  prove.  The  letters  of  the 
Prince  to  his  wife  indicate  tenderness  and  contentment.§     At 


*  Apologie,  53.  \  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  41,  42. 

\  ApoJogie,  80.  §  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  1-29. 


1559.]  PROGRESSIVE   DEVELOPMENT,  241 

the  same  tim3  he  was  accused,  at  a  later  period,  of  "having 
murdered  her  with  a  dagger."*  The  ridiculous  tale  was  not 
even  credited  by  those  who  reported  it,  .but  it  is  worth 
mentioning,  as  a  proof  that  no  calumny  was  too  senseless  to 
be  invented  concerning  the  man  whose  character  was  from 
that  hour  forth  to  be  the  mark  of  slander,  and  whose  whole  life 
was  to  be  its  signal,  although  often  unavailing,  refutation. f 

Yet  we  are  not  to  regard  William  of  Orange,  thus  on  the 
threshold  of  his  great  career,  by  the  light  diffused  from  a 
somewhat  later  period.  In  no  historical  character  more  re- 
markably than  in  his  is  the  law  of  constant  development  and 
progress  illustrated.  At  twenty-six  he  is  not  the  "pater 
patrice"  the  great  man  struggling  upward  and  onward  against 
a  host  of  enemies  and  obstacles  almost  beyond  human  strength, 
and  along  the  dark  and  dangerous  path  leading  through  con- 
flict, privation,  and  ceaseless  labor  to  no  repose  but  death.  On 
the  contrary,  his  foot  was  hardly  on  the  first  step  of  that 
difficult  ascent  which  was  to  rise  before  him  all  his  lifetime. 
He  was  still  among  the  primrose  paths.  He  was  rich,  power- 
ful, of  sovereign  rank.  He  had  only  the  germs  within  him  of 
what  was  thereafter  to  expand  into  moral  and  intellectual 
greatness.  He  had  small  sympathy  for  the  religious  reforma- 
tion, of  which  he  was  to  be  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
champions.  He  was  a  Catholic,  nominally,  and  in  outward 
observance.  With  doctrines  he  troubled  himself  but  little. 
He  had  given  orders  to  enforce  conformity  to  the  ancient 
Church,  not  with  bloodshed,  yet  with  comparative  strictness, 
in  his  principality  of  Orange.*     Beyond  the  compliance  with 


*  Willielms  von  Oranien  Ehe  mit  Anna  v.  Sachsen,   von  Dr.  K  "W.   Bot- 
tiger  (Leipzig,  1836) 

f  For  the  history  of  William  of  Orange  up  to  the  period  of  Philip's  depart- 
ure from  the  Netherlands,  see  Groen  v.  Prinsterer,  1-30  and  54*;  Gaehard, 
Corresp.  de  Guillaume  le  Taciturn©  (Bruxelles),  tome  i. ;  Apologie  d'Orange, 
1-54;  Vander  Haer,  cap.  xv.  183,  sqq. — Compare  Strada,  ii.  75-S4;  Benti 
voglio ;  Guerra  di  Fiandra,  i.  5,  6 ;  Iloofd,  i.  22 ;  Joa.  Meursii ;  Gul.  Aur.,  1-1 
Levensb.  Nederl.  Man.  et  Vr.,  vi.  172-179 

\  Archives  et  Corresp.,  i.  203* 
VOL.    I.  16 


242  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

rites  and  forms,  thought  indispensable  in  those  days  to  a  per- 
sonage of'  such  high  degree,  he  did  not  occupy  himself  with 
theology.  He  was  a  Catholic,  as  Egmont  and  Horn,  Berlay- 
mont  and  Mansfeld,  Montigny  and  even  Brederocle,  were 
Catholic.  It  was  only  tanners,  dyers  and  apostate  priests  who 
were  Protestants  at  that  day  in  the  Netherlands.  His  deter- 
mination to  protect  a  multitude  of  his  harmless  inferiors 
from  horrible  deaths  did  not  proceed  from  sympathy  with 
their  religious  sentiments,  but  merely  from  a  generous  and 
manly  detestation  of  murder.  He  carefully  averted  his  mind 
from  sacred  matters.  If  indeed  the  seed  implanted  by  his 
pious  parents  were  really  the  germ  of  his  future  conversion 
to  Protestantism,  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  lay  dormant  a 
long  time.  But  his  mind  was  in  other  pursuits.  He  was  dis- 
posed for  an  easy,  joyous,  luxurious,  princely  life.  Banquets, 
masquerades,  tournaments,  the  chase,  interspersed  with  the 
routine  of  official  duties,  civil  and  military,  seemed  likely  to 
fill  out  his  life.  His  hosjntality,  like  his  fortune,  was  almost 
regal.  While  the  King  and  the  foreign  envoys  were  still  in  the 
Netherlands,  his  house,  the  splendid  Nassau  palace  of  Brussels, 
was  ever  open.  He  entertained  for  the  monarch,  who  was,  or 
who  imagined  himself  to  be,  too  poor  to  discharge  his  own 
duties  in  this  respect,  but  he  entertained  at  his  own  expense.* 
This  splendid  household  was  still  continued.  Twenty-four 
noblemen  and  eighteen  pages  of  gentle  birth  officiated  regularly 
in  his  family.  His  establishment  was  on  so  extensive  a  scale 
that  upon  one  day  twenty-eight  master  cooks  were  dismissed, 
for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  family  expenses,  and  there 
was  hardly  a  princely  house  in  Germany  which  did  not  send 
cooks  to  learn  their  business  in  so  magnificent  a  kitchen.f  The 
reputation  of  his  table  remained  undiminished  for  years.  We 
find  at  a  later  period,  that  Philip,  in  the  course  of  one  of  the 
nominal  reconciliations  which  took  place  several  times  be- 
tween the  monarch  and  William  of  Orange,  wrote  that,  hia 


*  Apologie,  26,  27  f  Vander  Hacr,  182. 


1559.]  MAGNIFICENT    HOUSEKEEPING.  243 

head  cook  h?ing  dead,  lie  begged  the  Prince  to  "make  him  a 
present  of  his  chief  cook,  Master  Herman,  who  was  understood 
to  be  very  skilful."* 

In  this  hospitable  mansion,  the  feasting  continued  night 
and  day.  From  early  morning  till  noon,  the  breakfast-tables 
were  spread  with  wines  and  luxurious  viands  in  constant 
succession,  to  all  comers  and  at  every  moment.f  The  dinner 
and  supper  were  daily  banquets  for  a  multitude  of  guests. 
The  highest  nobles  were  not  those  alone  who  were  entertained. 
Men  of  lower  degree  were  welcomed  with  a  charming  hos- 
pitality which  made  them  feel  themselves  at  their  ease4 
Contemporaries  of  all  parties  unite  in  eulogizing  the  win- 
ning address  and  gentle  manners  of  the  Prince.  "Never," 
says  a  most  bitter  Catholic  historian,  "did  an  arrogant  or 
indiscreet  word  fall  from  his  lips.  He,  upon  no  occasion, 
manifested  anger  to  his  servants,  however  much  they  might 
be  in  fault,  but  contented  himself  with  admonishing  them 
graciously,  without  menace  or  insult.  He  had  a  gentle  and 
agreeable  tongue,  with  which  he  could  turn  all  the  gentlemen 
at  court  any  way  he  liked.  He  was  beloved  and  honored  by 
the  whole  community."§  His  manner  was  graceful,  familiar, 
caressing,  and  yet  dignified.  He  had  the  good  breeding  which 
comes  from  the  heart,  refined  into  an  inexpressible  charm 
from  his  constant  intercourse,  almost  from  his  cradle,  with 
mankind  of  all  ranks. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  this  train  of  living  was  attended 
with  expense.  Moreover,  he  had  various  other  establish- 
ments in  town  and  country,  besides  his  almost  royal  resi- 
dence in  Brussels.  He  was  ardently  fond  of  the  chase,  par- 
ticularly of  the  knightly  sport  of  falconry.  In  the  country 
he  "consoled   himself  by  taking   every  day  a  heron   in   the 


*  Corresp.  de  Guill.  lo  Tacit,  ii.  89.  f  Vander  Haer,  182. 

%  "A  la  verite  e'estoit  un  personage  d'une  merveilleuse  vivacite  d'esprit,  lequel 
sur  tous  autres  tenoit  table  magnifique,  ou  les  petits  compagnons  estovent  autant 
hienvenus  que  les  grands." — Pontus  Payen  MS. 

§  Pontus  Payen  MS 


244  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

clouds."0  His  falconers  alone  cost  him  annually  fifteen  hun- 
dred florins,  after  he  had  reduced  their  expenses  to  the  lowest 
possible  point.f  He  was  much  in  debt,  even  at  this  early 
period  and  with  his  princely  fortune.  "  We  come  of  a  race," 
he  wrote  carelessly  to  his  brother  Louis,  "  who  are  somewhat 
bad  managers  in  our  young  days,  but  when  we  grow  older,  we 
do  better,  like  our  late  father  :  sicut  erat  in  principio,  et  nunc, 
et  semper  et  in  secula  seculorum.  My  greatest  difficulty,"  he 
adds,  "  as  usual,  is  on  account  of  the  falconers."^ 

His  debts  already  amounted,  according  to  Grranvelle's  state- 
ment, to  800,000  or  900,000  florins.§  He  had  embarrassed  him- 
self, not  only  through  liis  splendid  extravagance,  by  which  all 
the  world  about  him  were  made  to  partake  of  his  wealth,  but  by 
accepting  the  high  offices  to  which  he  had  been  appointed. 
When  general-in-chief  on  the  frontier,  his  salary  was  three 
hundred  florins  monthly  ;  "  not  enough,"  as  he  said,  "  to  pay 
the  servants  in  his  tent,"[|  his  necessary  expenses  being  twenty- 
five  hundred  florins,  as  appears  by  a  letter  to  his  wife.'fl"  His 
embassy  to  carry  the  crown  to  Ferdinand,  and  his  subse- 
quent residence  as  a  hostage  for  the  treaty  in  Paris,  were  also 
very  onerous,  and  he  received  no  salary  ;  according  to  the 
economical  system  in  this  respect  pursued  by  Charles  and 
Philip.  In  these  two  embassies  or  missions  alone,  together 
with  the  entertainments  offered  by  him  to  the  court  and  to 
foreigners,  after  the  peace  at  Brussels,  the  Prince  spent, 
according  to  his  own  estimate,  1,500,000  florins.00  He  was, 
however,  although  deeply,  not  desperately  involved,  and 
had  already  taken  active  measures  to  regulate  and  reduce 
his  establishment.  His  revenues  were  vast,  both  in  his 
own  right  and  in  that  of  his  deceased  wife.  He  had  large 
claims  upon  the  royal  treasury  for  service  and  expenditure. 
He  had  besides  ample  sums  to  receive  from  the  ransoms  of  the 


*  Letter  to  Count  Louis  do  Nassau.     Archives,  etc.,  i.  179. 
f  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  196.  %  Ibid. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  51.     Archives,  etc.,  L  38.  |  Apologie,  27. 

If  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  16.  **  Apologie,  27. 


1559.]  DEBTS   AND   RESOURCES.  245 

prisoners  of  St.  Quentin  and  Gravelines,  having  served  in  both 
campaigns.  The  amount  to  be  received  by  individuals  from 
this  source  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that  Count  Horn,  by 
no  means  one  of  the  most  favored  in  the  victorious  armies,  had 
received  from  Leonor  d'Orleans,  Due  de  Longueville,  a  ransom 
of  eighty  thousand  crowns.0  The  sum  due,  if  payment  were 
enforced,  from  the  prisoners  assigned  to  Egmont,  Orange,  and 
others,  must  have  been  very  large.  Granvelle  estimated  the 
whole  amount  at  two  millions  ;  adding,  characteristically,  "  that 
this  kind  of  speculation  was  a  practice"  which  our  good  old  fath- 
ers, lovers  of  virtue,  would  not  have  found  laudable.f  In  this 
the  churchman  was  right,  but  he  might  have  added  that  the 
"  lovers  of  virtue"  would  have  found  it  as  little  "  laudable"  for 
ecclesiastics  to  dispose  of  the  sacred  offices  in  their  gift,  for  car- 
pets, tapestry,  and  annual  payments  of  certain  per  centages 
upon  the  cure  of  souls.!  If  the  profits  respectively  gained  by 
military  and  clerical  speculators  in  that  day  should  be  com- 
pared, the  disadvantage  would  hardly  be  found  to  lie  with  those 
of  the  long  robe. 

Such,  then,  at  the  beginning  of  1560,  was  William  of 
Orange  ;  a  generous,  stately,  magnificent,  powerful  grandee. 
As  a  military  commander,  he  had  acquitted  himself  very 
creditably  of  highly  important  functions  at  an  early  age. 
Nevertheless  it  was  the  opinion  of  many  persons,  that  he  was 
of  a  timid  temperament. §  He  was  even  accused  of  having 
manifested  an  unseemly  panic  at  Philippeville,  and  of  having 
only  been  restrained  by  the  expostidations  of  his  officers,  from 


*  " de  Ranfons  des  prisonniers  fran^ois,  prisonniers  prins  aux  bataillc-s  do 

St.  Quintin  et  Graveliuges  qui  porterent  a  uno  infinite  des  deniers,  entre  lesquels 
Messire  Leonor  d'Orleans  Due  de  Longueville  paia  comptant  au  Compte  do 
Homes  quatre-vingt  mil  Escus — pensez  maintenant  si  le  Compte  d'Egmont  avoit 
eu  moyen  de  faire  ses  besoignes,"  etc. — Pontus  Payen  MS. 

f  " chose  a  la  ve'rite  mal  seante,  et  que  noz  bons  vieux  peres,  amateurs  de 

la  vertu,  n'eussent  trouve  louable." — Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  38. 

%  Y.  Gachard.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.  sur  les  affaires  des  Pays-Bas 
(Brux.,  1848),  i.  318-320. 

§  " d'un  naturel  craintif,  comme  il  avoit  souventes  fois  monstre  durant  la 

guerre  de  France." — Pontus  Payen  MS. 


246  THE   RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

abandoning  both  that  fortress  and  Charlemont  to  Admiral 
Coligny,  who  had  made  his  appearance  in  the  neighborhood, 
merely  at  the  head  of  a  reconnoitring  party.*  If  the  story 
were  true,  it  would  be  chiefly  important  as  indicating  that  the 
Prince  of  Orange  was  one  of  the  many  historical  characters, 
originally  of  an  excitable  and  even  timorous  physical  organiza- 
tion, whom  moral  courage  and  a  strong  will  have  afterwards 
converted  into  dauntless  heroes.  Certain  it  is  that  he  was 
destined  to  confront  open  danger  in  every  form,  that  his  path 
was  to  lead  through  perpetual  ambush,  yet  that  his  cheerful 
confidence  and  tranquil  courage  were  to  become  not  only 
unquestionable  but  proverbial. f  It  may  be  safely  asserted, 
however,  that  the  story  was  an  invention  to  be  classed  with 
those  fictions  which  made  him  the  murderer  of  his  first  wife, 
a  common  conspirator  against  Philip's  crown  and  person,  and 
a  crafty  malefactor  in  general,  without  a  single  virtue.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  even  the  terrible  Alva,  who  lived  in 
harness  almost  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  was,  so  late  as  at 
this  period,  censured  for  timidity,  and  had  been  accused  in 
youth  of  flat  cowardice.^  He  despised  the  insinuation,  which 
for  him  had  no  meaning.  There  is  no  doubt  too  that  cau- 
tion was  a  predominant  characteristic  of  the  Prince.  It  was 
one  of  the  chief  sources  of  his  greatness.  At  that  period, 
perhaps  at  any  period,  he  would  have  been  incapable  of  such 
brilliant  and  dashing  exploits  as  had  made  the  name  of  Egmont 
so  famous.  It  had  even  become  a  proverb,  "  the  counsel  of 
Orange,  the  execution  of  Egmont,"§  yet  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  see  how  far  this  physical  promptness  which  had  been  so 
felicitous  upon  the  battle-field  was  likely  to  avail  the  hero  of  St. 
Quentin  in  the  great  political  combat  which  was  approaching. 
As  to  the  talents  of  the  Prince,  there  was  no  difference  of 
opinion.    His  enemies  never  contested  the  subtlety  and  breadth 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS. 

j-  "Soevis  tranquillus  in  undis,"  was  the  motto  often  engraved  upon  the  medals 
struck  at  different  periods  in  his  honor. 

X  Badovaro  MS.     Suriano  MS.  §  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


1559.]  ANTHONY   PERRENOT.  247 

of  his  intellect,  his  adroitness  and  capacity  in  conducting  state 
affairs,  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  the  profoundness 
of  his  views.  In  many  respects  it  must  be  confessed  that  his 
surname  of  The  Silent,  like  many  similar  appellations,  was  a 
misnomer.  William  of  Orange  was  neither  "silent"  nor 
"  taciturn,"  yet  these  are  the  epithets  which  will  be  forever 
associated  with  the  name  of  a  man  who,  in  private,  was  the 
most  affable,  cheerful,  and  delightful  of  companions,  and  who 
on  a  thousand  great  public  occasions  was  to  prove  himself,  both 
by  pen  and  by  speech,  the  most  eloquent  man  of  his  age.  His 
mental  accomplishments  were  considerable.  He  had  studied 
history  with  attention,  and  he  spoke  and  wrote  with  facility 
Latin,  French,  German,  Flemish,  and  Spanish. 

The  man,  however,  in  whose  hands  the  administration  of  the 
Netherlands  was  in  reality  placed,  was  Anthony  Perrenot,  then 
Bishop  of  Arras,  soon  to  be  known  by  the  more  celebrated 
title  of  Cardinal  Grranvelle.  He  was  the  chief  of  the  Consulta, 
or  secret  council  of  three,  by  whose  deliberations  the  Duchess 
Eegent  was  to  be  governed.  His  father,  Nicholas  Perrenot, 
of  an  obscure  family  in  Burgundy,  had  been  long  the  favorite 
minister  and  man  of  business  to  the  Emperor  Charles. 
Anthony,  the  eldest  of  thirteen  children,  was  born  in  1517. 
He  was  early  distinguished  for  his  talents.  He  studied  at 
Dole,  Padua,  Paris,  and  Louvain.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
spoke  seven  languages  with  perfect  facility,  while  his  acquaint- 
ance with  civil  and  ecclesiastical  laws  was  considered  pro- 
digious. At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  became  a  canon  of 
Liege  Cathedral.  The  necessary  eight  quarters  of  gentility  pro- 
duced upon  that  occasion  have  accordingly  been  displayed  by 
his  panegyrists  in  triumphant  refutation  of  that  theory  which 
gave  him  a  blacksmith  for  his  grandfather.0  At  the  same 
period,  although  he  had  not  reached  the  requisite  age,  the  rich 
bishopric  of  Arras  had  already  been  prepared  for  him  by  his 
father's   care.      Three  years   afterwards,  in  1543,   he   distin- 


*  Dom  l'Evesque,   Memoires  pour  servir  a  l'Histoire  du  Cardinal  Granvello 
(Paris,  1753),  ii.  146-293.— Compare  Strada,  ii.  GO. 


248  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

giiished  himself  by  a  most  learned  and  brilliant  liarangne 
before  the  Council  of  Trent,  by  which  display  he  so  much 
charmed  the  Emperor,  that  he  created  him  councillor  of  state. 
A  few  years  afterwards  he  rendered  the  unscrupulous  Charles 
still  more  valuable  proofs  of  devotion  and  dexterity  by  the 
part  he  played  in  the  memorable  imprisonment  of  the  Land- 
grave of  Hesse  and  the  Saxon  Dukes.  He  was  thereafter  con- 
stantly employed  in  embassies  and  other  offices  of  trust  and 
profit. 

There  was  no  doubt  as  to  his  profound  and  varied  learning, 
nor  as  to  his  natural  quickness  and  dexterity.  He  was 
ready  witted,  smooth  and  fluent  of  tongue,  fertile  in  ex- 
pedients, courageous,  resolute.  He  thoroughly  understood  the 
art  of  managing  men,  particularly  his  superiors.  He  knew 
how  to  govern  under  the  appearance  of  obeying.  He  possessed 
exquisite  tact  in  appreciating  the  characters  of  those  far  above 
him  in  rank  and  beneath  him  in  intellect.  He  could  accom- 
modate himself  with  great  readiness  to  the  idiosyncrasies  of 
sovereigns.  He  was  a  chameleon  to  the  hand  which  fed  him. 
In  his  intercourse  with  the  King,  he  colored  himself,  as  it  were, 
with  the  King's  character.  He  was  not  himself,  but  Philip  ; 
not  the  sullen,  hesitating,  confused  Philip,  however,  but  Philip 
endowed  with  eloquence,  readiness,  facility.  The  King  ever 
found  himself  anticipated  with  the  most  delicate  obsequious- 
ness,  beheld   his  struggling  ideas  change  into  winged  words 

7  uu  O  O  O 

without  ceasing  to  be  his  own.  No  flattery  could  be  more 
adroit.  The  bishop  accommodated  himself  to  the  King's 
epistolary  habits.  The  silver-tongued  and  ready  debater  sub- 
stituted protocols  for  conversation,  in  deference  to  a  monarch 
who  could  not  speak.  He  corresponded  with  Philip,  with 
Margaret  of  Parma,  with  every  one.  He  wrote  folios  to  the 
Duchess  when  they  were  in  the  same  palace.  He  would  write 
letters  forty  pages  long  to  the  King,  and  send  off  another 
courier  on  the  same  day  with  two  or  three  additional  des- 
patches of  identical  date.  Such  prolixity  enchanted  the  King, 
whose  greediness   for  business   epistles  was  insatiable.     The 


1559.]  ADROIT   ABSOLUTISM.  249 

painstaking  monarch  toiled,  pen  in  hand,  after  his  wonderful 
minister  in  vain.  Philip  was  only  fit  to  be  the  bishop's  clerk  ; 
yet  he  imagined  himself  to  be  the  directing  and  governing 
power.  He  scrawled  apostilles  in  the  margins  to  prove  that 
he  had  read  with  attention,  and  persuaded  himself  that  he 
suggested  when  he  scarcely  even  comprehended.  The  bishop 
gave  advice  and  issued  instructions  when  he  seemed  to  be  only 
receiving  them.  He  was  the  substance  while  he  affected  to  be 
the  shadow.  These  tactics  were  comparatively  easy  and  likely 
to  be  triumphant,  so  long  as  he  had  only  to  deal  with  inferior 
intellects  like  those  of  Philip  and  Margaret.  When  he  should 
be  matched  against  political  genius  and  lofty  character  com- 
bined, it  was  possible  that  his  resources  might  not  prove  so 
all-sufficient. 

His  political  principles  were  sharply  defined  in  reality,  but 
smoothed  over  by  a  conventional  and  decorous  benevolence  of 
language,  which  deceived  vulgar  minds.  He  was  a  strict  ab- 
solutist. His  deference  to  arbitrary  power  was  profound  and 
slavish.  God  and  "  the  master,"  as  he  always  called  Philip,  he 
professed  to  serve  with  equal  humility.  "  It  seems  to  me," 
said  he,  in  a  letter  of  this  epoch,  "  that  I  shall  never  be  able 
to  fulfil  the  obligation  of  slave  which  I  owe  to  your  majesty, 
to  whom  I  am  bound  by  so  firm  a  chain  ; — at  any  rate,  I  shall 
never  fail  to  struggle  for  that  end  with  sincerity."* 

As  a  matter  of  course,  he  vvas  a  firm  opponent  of  the  national 
rights  of  the  Netherlands,  however  artfully  he  disguised  the 
sharp  sword  of  violent  absolutism  under  a  garland  of  flour- 
ishing phraseology.  He  had  strenuously  warned  Philip  against 
assembling  the  States-general  before  his  departure  for  the  sake 
of  asking  them  for  supplies.  He  earnestly  deprecated  allow- 
ing the  constitutional  authorities  any  control  over  the  expend- 


*  "  T  jamas  mc  parecera  que  bastaria  para  quo  yo  puedo  cumplir  con  la  obliga- 
tion do  csclavo  on  quo  mo  ha  puesto  V.  M.  atando  mo  con  tan  firmo  catena ;  a  lo 
menos  se  quo  no  me  falla  ny  me  faltara — do  acertar  en  las  cosas  del  scrvicio  .  .  . 
con  limpieza  y  amor,"  etc. — Papicrs  d'Etat,  vi.  96. 


250  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

itures  of  the  government,  and  averred  that  this  practice  under 
the  Eegent  Mary  had  been  the  cause  of  endless  trouble.*  It 
may  easily  be  supposed  that  other  rights  were  as  little  to  Iris 
taste  as  the  claim  to  vote  the  subsidies,  a  privilege  which  was 
in  reality  indisputable.  Men  who  stood  forth  in  defence  of 
the  provincial  constitutions  were,  in  his  opinion,  mere  dema- 
gogues and  hypocrites  ;  their  only  motive  being  to  curry  favor 
with  the  populace.  Yet  these  charters  were,  after  all,  suffi- 
ciently limited.  The  natural  rights  of  man  were  topics  which 
had  never  been  broached.  Man  had  only  natural  wrongs. 
None  ventured  to  doubt  that  sovereignty  was  heaven-born, 
anointed  of  God,  The  rights  of  the  Netherlands  were  special, 
not  general;  plural,  not  singular;  liberties,  not  liberty ;  "priv- 
ileges," not  maxims.  They  were  practical,  not  theoretical ; 
historical,  not  philosophical.  Still,  such  as  they  were,  they 
were  facts,  acquisitions.  They  had  been  purchased  by  the 
blood  and  toil  of  brave  ancestors  ;  they  amounted— how- 
ever open  to  criticism  upon  broad  humanitarian  grounds,  of 
which  few  at  that  day  had  ever  dreamed — to  a  solid,  sub- 
stantial dyke  against  the  arbitrary  power  which  was  ever 
chafing  and  fretting  to  destroy  its  barriers.  No  men  were 
more  subtle  or  more  diligent  in  corroding  the  foundation  of 
these  bulwarks  than  the  disciples  of  Granvelle.  Yet  one 
would  have  thought  it  possible  to  tolerate  an  amount  of  prac- 
tical freedom  so  different  from  the  wild,  social  speculations 
which.,  in  later  days,  have  made  both  tyrants  and  reasonable 
lovers  of  our  race  tremble  with  apprehension.  The  Nether- 
landers  claimed,  mainly,  the  right  to  vote  the  money  which  was 
demanded  in  such  enormous  profusion  from  their  painfully-ac- 
quired wealth  ;  they  were  also  unwilling  to  be  burned  alive  if 
they  objected  to  transubstantiation.  Granvelle  was  most  dis- 
tinctly of  an  opposite  opinion  upon  both  topics.  He  strenuously 
deprecated  the  interference  of  the  states  with  the  subsidies, 
and  it  was  by  his  advice  that  the  remorseless  edict  of  1550, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat  vi.  27. 


1559.]  INDUSTRY   REWARDED.  251 

the  Emperor's  ordinance  of  blood  and  fire,  was  re-enacted,  as 
the  very  first  measure  of  Philip's  reign.0  Such  were  his  sen- 
timents as  to  national  and  popular  rights  by  representation. 
For  the  people  itself — "  that  vile  and  mischievous  animal 
called  the  people"f — as  he  expressed  it,  he  entertained  a  cheer- 
ful contempt. 

His  aptitude  for  managing  men  was  very  great ;  his  capa- 
city for  affairs  incontestable  ;  but  it  must  be  always  understood 
as  the  capacity  for  the  affairs  of  absolutism.  He  was  a  clever, 
scheming  politician,  an  adroit  manager ;  it  remained  to  be  seen 
whether  he  had  a  claim  to  the  character  of  a  statesman.  His 
industry  was  enormous.  He  could  write  fifty  letters  a  day 
with  his  own  hand.  He  could  dictate  to  half  a  dozen  aman- 
uenses at  once,  on  as  many  different  subjects,  in  as  many  dif- 
ferent languages,  and  send  them  all  away  exhausted. 

He  was  already  rich.  His  income  from  his  see  and  other  livings 
was  estimated,  in  1557,  at  ten  thousand  dollars  ;  his  property  in 
ready  money,  "furniture,  tapestry,  and  the  like,"  at  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  J  When  it  is  considered  that, 
as  compared  with  our  times,  these  sums  represent  a  revenue  of 
a  hundred  thousand,  and  a  capital  of  two  millions  and  a  half 
in  addition,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  prelate  had  at 
least  made  a  good  beginning.  Besides  his  regular  income, 
moreover,  he  had  handsome  receipts  from  that  simony  which 
was  reduced  to  a  system,  and  which  gave  him  a  liberal  profit, 
generally  in  the  shape  of  an  annuity,  upon  every  benefice 
which  he  conferred.  He  was,  however,  by  no  means  satisfied. 
His  appetite  was  as  boundless  as  the  sea  ;  he  was  still  a  shame- 
less mendicant  of  pecuniary  favors  and  lucrative  offices. 
Already,  in  1552,  the  Emperor  had  roundly  rebuked  his  greedi- 


*  Papiere  d'Etat,  is.  478,  479. 

f  " tan  ruin  animal  como  es  el  pueblo." — rapiers  d'Etat,  vii.  367. 

\  "  Vive  honoratamente — la  puo  fare,  havendo  tra  l'entrata  temporale  chi  so 
ritrova  nelle  Borgogna  o  quelle  del  vescovado  et  altri  benefitij  piu  di  ™ 
scudi  di  entrata,  e  tra  gioje,  argento,  tappezzerie  con  altri  mobili  e  denari  con- 
tan  ti  piu  di  2j  scudi,  et  e  opinione  do  giuditiosi  eke  riuscira  Cardinale,"  etc. — 
Badovaro  MS. 


252  THE    RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

aess.  "As  to  what  you  say  of  getting  no  ' merced'  nor 
'  ayuda  de  costa/  "  said  he,  "  'tis  merced  and  ayuda  de  costa 
quite  sufficient,  when  one  has  fat  benefices,  pensions,  and 
salaries,  with  which  a  man  might  manage  to  support  himself."* 
The  bishop,  however,  was  not  easily  abashed,  and  he  was  at 
the  epoch  which  now  occupies  us,  earnestly  and  successfully 
soliciting  from  Philip  the  lucrative  abbey  of  Saint  Armand. 
Not  that  he  would  have  accepted  this  preferment,  "  could  the 
abbey  have  been  annexed  to  any  of  the  new  bishoprics  ;"f  on 
the  contrary,  he  assured  the  king  that  "  to  carry  out  so  holy  a 
work  as  the  erection  of  those  new  sees,  he  would  willingly 
have  contributed  even  out  of  his  own  miserable  pittance."* 
It  not  being  considered  expedient  to  confiscate  the  abbey  to 
any  particular  bishop,  Philip  accordingly  presented  it  to  the 
prelate  of  Arras,  together  with  a  handsome  sum  of  money  in 
the  shape  of  an  "  ayuda  de  costa"  beside.  The  thrifty  bishop, 
who  foresaw  the  advent  of  troublous  times  in  the  Netherlands, 
however,  took  care  in  the  letters  by  which  he  sent  his  thanks, 
to  instruct  the  King  to  secure  the  money  upon  crown  property 
in  Arragon,  Naples,  and  Sicily,  as  matters  in  the  provinces 
were  beginning  to  look  very  precarious.§ 

Such,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Duchess  Margaret's 
administration,  were  the  characters  and  the  previous  histories 
of  the  persons  into  whose  hands  the  Netherlands  were  en- 
trusted. None  of  them  have  been  prejudged.  We  have  con- 
tented ourselves  with  stating  the  facts  with  regard  to  all,  up 
to  the  period  at  which  we  have  arrived.  Their  characters 
have  been  sketched,  not  according  to  subsequent  develop- 
ments, but  as  they  appeared  at  the  opening  of  this  important 
epoch. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants  offered  many 
sharp  contrasts,  and  revealed  many  sources  of  future  trouble. 


*  Groen  v.  Prinsterer.     Archives,  etc.  i.  189*. 
f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  31. 

\  " mas  que  de  la  miseria  que  yo  tengo  holgaria  que  se  tomasse  para 

cumplimento  de  tan  saucta  obra." — Ibid.  §  Ibid. 


1559.]  EXTRAVAGANCE   OF    THE   ARISTOCRACY.  253 

The  aristocracy  of  the  Netherlands  was  excessively  extrava- 
gant, dissipated,  and  already  considerably  embarrassed  in  cir- 
cumstances. It  had  been  the  policy  of  the  Emperor  and  of 
Philip  to  confer  high  offices,  civil,  military,  and  diplomatic, 
upon  the  leading  nobles,  by  which  enormous  expenses  were 
entailed  upon  them,  without  any  corresponding  salaries.  The 
case  of  Orange  has  been  already  alluded  to,  and  there  were 
many  other  nobles  less  able  to  afford  the  expense,  who  had 
been  indulged  with  these  ruinous  honors.  During  the  war, 
there  had  been,  however,  many  chances  of  bettering  broken 
fortunes.  Victory  brought  immense  prizes  to  the  leading 
officers.  The  ransoms  of  so  many  illustrious  prisoners  as  had 
graced  the  triumphs  of  Saint  Quentin  and  Gravelines  had 
been  extremely  profitable.  These  sources  of  wealth  had  now 
been  cut  off;  yet,  on  the  departure  of  the  King  from  the 
Netherlands,  the  luxury  increased  instead  of  diminishing. 
"  Instead  of  one  court/'  said  a  contemporary,  "  you  would 
have  said  that  there  were  fifty."0  Nothing  could  be  more 
sumptuous  than  the  modes  of  life  in  Brussels.  The  house- 
hold of  Orange  has  been  already  painted.  That  of  Egmont 
was  almost  as  magnificent.  A  rivalry  in  hospitality  and  in 
display  began  among  the  highest  nobles,  and  extended  to 
those  less  able  to  maintain  themselves  in  the  contest.  During 
the  war  there  had  been  the  valiant  emulation  of  the  battle- 
field ;  gentlemen  had  vied  with  each  other  how  best  to  illus- 
trate an  ancient  name  with  deeds  of  desperate  valor,  to  re- 
pair the  fortunes  of  a  ruined  house  with  the  spoils  of  war. 
They  now  sought  to  surpass  each  other  in  splendid  extrav- 
agance. It  was  an  eager  competition  who  should  build  the 
stateliest  palaces,  have  the  greatest  number  of  noble  pages  and 
gentlemen  in  waiting,  the  most  gorgeous  liveries,  the  most 
hospitable  tables,  the  most  scientific  cooks.  There  was,  also, 
much  depravity  as  well  as  extravagance.  The  morals  of  high 
society  were  loose.  Gaming  was  practised  to  a  frightful  extent. 
Drunkenness   was  a  prevailing   characteristic    of  the  higher 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS 


254  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

classes.  Even  the  Prince  of  Orange  himself,  at  this  period, 
although  never  addicted  to  habitual  excess,  was  extremely  con- 
vivial in  his  tastes,  tolerating  scenes  and  companions,  not  likely 
at  a  later  day  to  find  much  favor  in  his  sight.  "  We  kept 
Saint  Martin's  joyously,"  he  wrote,  at  about  this  period,  to 
his  brother,  "  and  in  the  most  jovial  company.  Brederode 
was  one  day  in  such  a  state  that  I  thought  he  would  certainly 
die,  but  he  has  now  got  over  it."*  Count  Brederode,  soon 
afterwards  to  become  so  conspicuous  in  the  early  scenes  of  the 
revolt,  was,  in  truth,  most  notorious  for  his  performances  in 
these  banqueting  scenes.  He  appeared  to  have  vowed  as  un- 
compromising hostility  to  cold  water  as  to  the  inquisition,  and 
always  denounced  both  with  the  same  fierce  and  ludicrous 
vehemence.  Their  constant  connection  with  Germany  at  that 
period  did  not  improve  the  sobriety  of  the  Netherlands'  nobles. 
The  aristocracy  of  that  country,  as  is  well  known,  were  most 
"potent  at  potting."  "When  the  German  finds  himself 
sober,"  said  the  bitter  Badovaro,  "he  believes  himself  to  be 
ill."  Gladly,  since  the  peace,  they  had  welcomed  the  oppor- 
tunities afforded  for  many  a  deep  carouse  with  their  Nether- 
lands cousins.  The  approaching  marriage  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  with  the  Saxon  princess — an  episode  which  will  soon 
engage  our  attention — gave  rise  to  tremendous  orgies.  Count 
Schwartzburg,  the  Prince's  brother-in-law,  and  one  of  the 
negotiators  of  the  marriage,  found  many  occasions  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  of  harmony  between  the  countries  by 
indulgence  of  these  common  tastes.  "I  have  had  many 
princes  and  counts  at  my  table,"  he  wrote  to  Orange,  "  where 
a  good  deal  more  was  drunk  than  eaten.  The  Rhinegrave's 
brother  fell  down  dead  after  drinking  too  much  malvoisie  ; 
but  we  have  had  him  balsamed  and  sent  home  to  his  family."f 

These  disorders  among  the  higher  ranks  were  in  reality 
so  extensive  as  to  justify  the  biting  remark  of  the  Vene- 
tian :  "  The  gentlemen  intoxicate  themselves  every  day," 
said  he,   "  and   the   ladies   also  ;    but   much  less   than  the 


*  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  185.  f  Ibid.  i.  93* 


1559.]  BROKEN  FORTUNES.  255 

men."*  His  remarks  as  to  the  morality,  in  other  respects,  of 
both  sexes  were  equally  sweeping,  and  not  more  complimentary. 
If  these  were  the  characteristics  of  the  most  distinguished 
society,  it  may  he  supposed  that  they  were  reproduced  with 
more  or  less  intensity  throughout  all  the  more  remote  hut 
concentric  circles  of  life,  as  far  as  the  seductive  splendor  of 
the  court  could  radiate.  The  lesser  nobles  emulated  the 
grandees,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  splendid  establishments, 
banquets,  masquerades,  and  equipages.  The  natural  conse- 
quences of  such  extravagance  followed.  Their  estates  were 
mortgaged,  deeply  and  more  deeply ;  then,  after  a  few  years, 
sold  to  the  merchants,  or  rich  advocates  and  other  gentlemen 
of  the  robe,  to  whom  they  had  been  pledged.  The  more 
closely  ruin  stared  the  victims  in  the  face,  the  more  heed- 
lessly did  they  plunge  into  excesses.  "Such  were  the  cir- 
cumstances," moralizes  a  Catholic  writer,  "  to  which,  at  an 
earlier  period,  the  affairs  of  Catiline,  Cethegus,  Lentulus,  and 
others  of  that  faction  had  been  reduced,  when  they  undertook 
to  overthrow  the  Roman  republic/'f  Many  of  the  nobles 
being  thus  embarrassed,  and  some  even  desperate,  in  their  con- 
dition, it  was  thought  that  they  were  desirous  of  creating  dis- 
turbances in  the  commonwealth,  that  the  payment  of  just 
debts  might  be  avoided,  that  their  mortgaged  lands  might  he 
wrested  by  main  force  from  the  low-born  individuals  who  had 
become  possessed  of  them,  that,  in  particular,  the  rich  abbey 
lands  held  by  idle  priests  might  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of 
impoverished  gentlemen  who  could  turn  them  to  so  much 
better  account.  J  It  is  quite  probable  that  interested  motives 
such  as  these  were  not  entirely  inactive  among  a  comparatively 
small  class  of  gentlemen.  The  religious  reformation  in  every 
land  of  Europe  derived  a  portion  of  its  strength  from  the 
opportunity  it  afforded  to  potentates  and  great  nobles  for 
helping  themselves  to  Church  property.  No  doubt  many  Neth- 
erlanders  thought  that  their  fortunes  might  be  improved  at 


*  i: ma  nel  bere  s'imbriacono  ogni  giorno,  ct  le  donne  ancora,  ma  molto 

meno  degli  nomini,"  etc.  f  Pontua  Payen  MS,  \  Ibid. 


256  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

the  expense  of  the  monks,  and  for  the  benefit  of  religion.  Even 
without  apostasy  from  the  mother  Church,  they  looked  with 
longing  eyes  on  the  wealth  of  her  favored  and  indolent  children. 
They  thought  that  the  King  would  do  well  to  carve  a  round 
number  of  handsome  military  commanderies  out  of  the  abbey 
lands,  whose  possessors  should  be  bound  to  military  service  after 
the  ancient  manner  of  fiefs,  so  that  a  splendid  cavalry,  headed 
by  the  gentlemen  of  the  country,  should  be  ever  ready  to  , 
mount  and  ride  at  the  royal  pleasure,  in  place  of  a  horde  of 
lazy  epicureans,  telling  beads  and  indulging  themselves  in 
luxurious  vice.* 

Such  views  were  entertained  ;  such  language  often  held. 
These  circumstances  and  sentiments  had  their  influence 
among  the  causes  which  produced  the  great  revolt  now  im- 
pending. Care  should  be  taken,  however,  not  to  exaggerate 
that  influence.  It  is  a  prodigious  mistake  to  refer  this  great 
historical  event  to  sources  so  insufficient  as  the  ambition  of  a 
few  great  nobles,  and  the  embarrassments  of  a  larger  number 
of  needy  gentlemen.  The  Netherlands  revolt  was  not  an  aris- 
tocratic, but  a  popular,  although  certainly  not  a  democratic 
movement.  It  was  a  great  episode — the  longest,  the  darkest, 
the  bloodiest,  the  most  important  episode  in  the  history  of  the 
religious  reformation  in  Europe.  The  nobles  so  conspicuous 
upon  the  surface  at  the  outbreak,  only  drifted  before  a  storm 
which  they  neither  caused  nor  controlled.  Even  the  most 
powerful  and  the  most  sagacious  were  tossed  to  and  fro  by  the 
surge  of  great  events,  which,  as  they  rolled  more  and  more 
tumultuously  around  them,  seemed  to  become  both  irresistible 
and  unfathomable. 

Eor  the  state  of  the  people  was  very  different  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  aristocracy.     The  period  of  martyrdom  had  lasted 

*  " ne  tenoient  autres  propos  a  table  que  do  reformer  l'estat,  ecclesias« 

tique,  signamment  les  riches  abbayes,  scavoir  vous  convient,  leur  ostant  les 
grands  biens  qui  estoyent  cause,  si  qu'ils  disoyent,  de  leur  mauvaise  vie  et  les 
criger  en  croisades  que  Ton  poldroit  conferer  a  une  infinite  des  pauvres  gentil- 
hommes,  qui  seraient  tenus  de  faire  service  .  .  .  au  lieu  d'ung  tas  de  faineans 
vivans  a  l'epicurienne,  Ton  auroit  toujours  une  belle  cavallerie  a  la  main  . 
au  proffict  du  Roy  et  soulagement  du  pays,"  etc.,  etc. — Pontus  Pay  en  MS. 


1559.]  CONDITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  257 

long  and  was  to  last  longer  ;  but  there  were  symptoms  that  it 
might  one  day  be  succeeded  by  a  more  active  stage  of  popular 
disease.  The  tumults  of  the  Netherlands  were  long  in  ripen- 
ino-  ;  when  the  final  outbreak  came  it  would  have  been  more 
philosophical  to  enquire,  not  why  it  had  occurred,  but  how  it 
could  have  been  so  long  postponed.  During  the  reign  of 
Charles,  the  sixteenth  century  had  been  advancing  steadily  in 
strength  as  the  once  omnipotent  Emperor  lapsed  into  decrepi- 
tude. That  extraordinary  century  had  not  dawned  upon  the 
earth  only  to  increase  the  strength  of  absolutism  and  super- 
stition. The  new  world  had  not  been  discovered,  the  ancient 
world  reconquered,  the  printing-press  perfected,  only  that 
the  inquisition  might  reign  undisturbed  over  the  fairest  por- 
tions of  the  earth,  and  chartered  hypocrisy  fatten  upon  its 
richest  lands.  It  was  impossible  that  the  most  energetic 
and  quick-witted  people  of  Europe  should  not  feel  sym- 
pathy with  the  great  effort  made  by  Christendom  to  shake  off 
the  incubus  which  had  so  long  paralyzed  her  hands  and 
brain.  In  the  Netherlands,  where  the  attachment  to  Rome 
had  never  been  intense,  where  in  the  old  times,  the  Bishops 
of  Utrecht  had  been  rather  Ghibelline  than  Guelph,  where  all 
the  earlier  sects  of  dissenters — Waldenses,  Lollards,  Hussites — 
had  found  numerous  converts  and  thousands  of  martyrs,  it  was 
inevitable  that  there  should  be  a  response  from  the  popular 
heart  to  the  deeper  agitation  which  now  reached  to  the  very 
core  of  Christendom.  In  those  provinces,  so  industrious  and 
energetic,  the  disgust  was  likely  to  be  most  easily  awakened 
for  a  system  under  which  so  many  friars  battened  in  luxury 
upon  the  toils  of  others,  contributing  nothing  to  the  taxation, 
nor  to  the  military  defence  of  the  country,  exercising  no 
productive  avocation,  except  their  trade  in  indulgences,  and 
squandering  in  taverns  and  brothels  the  annual  sums  derived 
from  their  traffic  in  licences  to  commit  murder,  incest,  and 
every  other  crime  known  to  humanity. 

The  people  were  numerous,  industrious,  accustomed  for  cen- 
turies to  a  state  of  comparative  civil  freedom,  and  to  a  lively 
foreign   trade,   by  which   their  minds  were  saved  from  the 

vol.  i.  17 


258  THE   EISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

stagnation  of  bigotry.  It  was  natural  that  they  should  begin 
to  generalize,  and  to  pass  from  the  concrete  images  presented 
them  in  the  Flemish  monasteries  to  the  abstract  character 
of  Rome  itself.  The  Flemish,  above  all  their  other  qualities, 
were  a  commercial  nation.  Commerce  was  the  mother  of  their 
freedom,  so  far  as  they  had  acquired  it,  in  civil  matters. 
It  was  struggling  to  give  birth  to  a  larger  liberty,  to  free- 
dom of  conscience.  The  provinces  were  situated  in  the  very 
heart  of  Europe.  The  blood  of  a  world-wide  traffic  was 
daily  coursing  through  the  thousand  arteries  of  that  water- 
inwoven  territory.  There  was  a  mutual  exchange  between 
the  Netherlands  and  all  the  world  ;  and  ideas  were  as  liberally 
interchanged  as  goods.  Truth  was  imported  as  freely  as  less 
precious  merchandise.  The  psalms  of  Ma  rot  were  as  current 
as  the  drugs  of  Molucca  or  the  diamonds  of  Borneo.  The 
prohibitory  measures  of  a  despotic  government  could  not  anni- 
hilate this  intellectual  trade,  nor  could  bigotry  devise  an 
effective  quarantine  to  exclude  the  religious  pest  which 
lurked  in  every  bale  of  merchandise,  and  was  wafted  on  every 
breeze  from  East  and  West. 

The  edicts  of  the  Emperor  had  been  endured,  but  not  ac- 
cepted. The  horrible  persecution  under  which  so  many  thou- 
sands had  sunk  had  produced  its  inevitable  result.  Fertilized 
by  all  this  innocent  blood,  the  soil  of  the  Netherlands  became 
as  a  watered  garden,  in  which  liberty,  civil  and  religious,  was 
to  flourish  perennially.  The  scaffold  had  its  daily  victims, 
but  did  not  make  a  single  convert.  The  statistics  of  these 
crimes  will  perhaps  never  be  accurately  adjusted,  nor  will  it  be 
ascertained  whether  the  famous  estimate  of  Grotius  was  an 
exaggerated  or  an  inadequate  calculation.  Those  who  love 
horrible  details  may  find  ample  material.  The  chronicles 
contain  the  lists  of  these  obscure  martyrs  ;  but  their  names, 
hardly  pronounced  in  their  life-time,  sound  barbarously  in 
our  ears,  and  will  never  ring  through  the  trumpet  of  fame. 
Yet  they  were  men  who  dared  and  suffered  as  much  as  men 
can  dare  and  suffer  in  this  world,  and  for  the  noblest  cause 
which  can  inspire  humanity.    Fanatics  they  certainly  were  not, 


1559.]  PROGRESS  OF  CALVINISM.  259 

if  fanaticism  consists  in  show,  without  corresponding  sub- 
stance. For  them  all  was  terrible  reality.  The  Emperor  and 
his  edicts  were  realities,  the  axe,  the  stake  were  realities,  and 
the  heroism  with  which  men  took  each  other  by  the  hand 
and  walked  into  the  flames,  or  with  which  women  sang  a  song 
of  triumph  while  the  grave-digger  was  shovelling  the  earth 
upon  their  living  faces,  was  a  reality  also. 

Thus,  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  were  already  pervaded, 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  country,  with  the  expand- 
ing spirit  of  religious  reformation.  It  was  inevitable  that 
sooner  or  later  an  explosion  was  to  arrive.  They  were  placed 
between  two  great  countries,  where  the  new  principles 
had  already  taken  root.  The  Lutheranism  of  Germany  and 
the  Calvinism  of  France  had  each  its  share  in  producing  the 
Netherland  revolt,  but  a  mistake  is  perhaps  often  made  in 
estimating  the  relative  proportion  of  these  several  influences. 
The  Keformation  first  entered  the  provinces,  not  through  the 
Augsburg,  but  the  Huguenot  gate.  The  fiery  field-preachers 
from  the  south  of  France  first  inflamed  the  excitable  hearts 
of  the  kindred  population  of  the  south-western  Netherlands. 
The  Walloons  were  the  first  to  rebel  against  and  the  first  to 
reconcile  themselves  with  papal  Eome,  exactly  as  their  Celtic 
ancestors,  fifteen  centuries  earlier,  had  been  foremost  in  the 
revolt  against  imperial  Eome,  and  precipitate  in  their  submis- 
sion to  her  overshadowing  power.  The  Batavians,  slower  to  be 
moved  but  more  steadfast,  retained  the  impulse  which  they  re- 
ceived from  the  same  source  which  was  already  agitating  their 
"  Welsh"  compatriots.  There  were  already  French  preachers 
at  Valenciennes  and  Tournay,  to  be  followed,  as  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  see,  by  many  others.  Without  undervaluing  the 
influence  of  the  German  Churches,  and  particularly  of  the 
garrison-preaching  of  the  German  military  chaplains  in  the 
Netherlands,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  early  Reformers 
of  the  provinces  were  mainly  Huguenots  in  their  belief.  The 
Dutch  Church  became,  accordingly,  not  Lutheran,  but  Calvinistic, 
and  the  founder  of  the  commonwealth  hardly  ceased  to  be  a  nom- 
inal Catholic  before  he  became  an  adherent  to  the  same  creed. 


260  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

In  the  mean  time,  it  is  more  natural  to  regard  the  great 
movement,  psychologically  speaking,  as  a  whole,  whether  it 
revealed  itself  in  France,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  England, 
or  Scotland.  The  policy  of  governments,  national  character, 
individual  interests,  and  other  collateral  circumstances,  modi- 
fied the  result ;  but  the  great  cause  was  the  same  ;  the  source 
of  all  the  movements  was  elemental,  natural,  and  single.  The 
Reformation  in  Germany  had  been  adjourned  for  half  a  century 
by  the  Augsburg  religious  peace,  just  concluded.  It  was  held 
in  suspense  in  France  through  the  Macchiavellian  policy  which 
Catharine  de  Medici  had  just  adopted,  and  was  for  several  years 
to  prosecute,  of  balancing  one  party  against  the  other,  so  as 
to  neutralize  all  power  but  her  own.  The  great  contest  was 
accordingly  transferred  to  the  Netherlands,  to  be  fought  out 
for  the  rest  of  the  century,  while  the  whole  of  Christendom 
were  to  look  anxiously  for  the  result.  From  the  East  and 
from  the  West  the  clouds  rolled  away,  leaving  a  compara- 
tively bright  and  peaceful  atmosphere,  only  that  they  might 
concentrate  themselves  with  portentous  blackness  over  the 
devoted  soil  of  the  Netherlands.  In  Germany,  the  princes, 
not  the  people,  had  conquered  Rome,  and  to  the  princes,  not 
the  people,  were  secured  the  benefits  of  the  victory — the  spoils 
of  churches,  and  the  right  to  worship  according  to  conscience. 
The  people  had  the  right  to  conform  to  their  ruler's  creed,  or 
to  depart  from  his  land.  Still,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  many  of  the 
princes  being  Reformers,  a  large  mass  of  the  population  had 
acquired  the  privilege  for  their  own  generation  and  that  of 
their  children  to  practise  that  religion  which  they  actually  ap- 
proved. This  was  a  fact,  and  a  more  comfortable  one  than 
the  necessity  of  choosing  between  what  they  considered  wicked 
idolatry  and  the  stake — the  only  election  left  to  their  Nether- 
land  brethren.  In  France,  the  accidental  splinter  from  Mont- 
gomery's lance  had  deferred  the  Huguenot  massacre  for  a 
dozen  years.  During  the  period  in  which  the  Queen  Regent 
was  resolved  to  play  her  fast  and  loose  policy,  all  the  persua- 
sions of  Philip  and  the  arts  of  Alva  were  powerless  to  induce 
her  to  carry  out  the  scheme  which  Henry  had  revealed  to 


1559,]  edict  of  1550.  261 

Orange  in  the  forest  of  Vincennes.  When  the  crime  came  at 
last,  it  was  as  blundering  as  it  was  bloody  ;  at  once  premed- 
itated and  accidental ;  the  isolated  execution  of  an  interregal 
conspiracy,  existing  for  half  a  generation,  yet  exploding  with- 
out concert ;  a  wholesale  massacre,  but  a  piecemeal  plot. 

The  aristocracy  and  the  masses  being  thus,  from  a  variety 
of  causes,  in  this  agitated  and  dangerous  condition,  what  were 
the  measures  of  the  government  ? 

The  edict  of  1550  had  been  re-enacted  immediately  after 
Philip's  accession  to  sovereignty.  It  is  necessary  that  the 
reader  should  be  made  acquainted  with  some  of  the  leading 
provisions  of  this  famous  document,  thus  laid  down  above  all 
the  constitutions  as  the  organic  law  of  the  land.  A  few  plain 
facts,  entirely  without  rhetorical  varnish,  will  prove  more  im- 
pressive in  this  case  than  superfluous  declamation.  The 
American  will  judge  whether  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  Laud 
and  Charles  upon  his  Puritan  ancestors  were  the  severest 
which  a  people  has  had  to  undergo,  and  whether  the  Dutch 
Republic  does  not  track  its  source  to  the  same  high,  religious 
origin  as  that  of  our  own  commonwealth. 

"  No  one,"  said  the  edict,0  "  shall  print,  write,  copy,  keep, 
conceal,  sell,  buy  or  give  in  churches,  streets,  or  other  places, 
any  book  or  writing  made  by  Martin  Luther,  John  Ecolam- 
padius,  Ulrich  Zwinglius,  Martin  Bucer,  John  Calvin,  or  other 
heretics  reprobated  by  the  Holy  Church  ;  *  *  *  nor  break,  or 
otherwise  injure  the  images  of  the  holy  virgin  or  canonized 
saints ;  *  *  *  nor  in  his  house  hold  conventicles,  or  illegal 
gatherings,  or  be  present  at  any  such  in  which  the  adherents 
of  the  above-mentioned  heretics  teach,  baptize,  and  form  con- 
spiracies against  the  Holy  Church  and  the  general  welfare. 
-:.:■  -:.:•  »  Moreover,  we  forbid,"  continues  the  edict,  in  name 
of  the  sovereign,  "  all  lay  persons  to  converse  or  dispute  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Scriptures,  openly  or  secretly,  especially  on 
any  doubtful  or  difficult  matters,  or  to  read,  teach,  or  expound 
the  Scriptures,  unless  they  have  duly  studied  theology  and  been 


*  The  text  of  the  edict  is  given  by  Bor,  i.  7-12, 


262  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559 

approved  by  some  renowned  university ;  *  *  :::"  or  to  preach 
secretly,  or  openly,  or  to  entertain  any  of  the  opinions  of  the 
above-mentioned  heretics  ;  *  ":;;  *  on  pain,  should  any  one  be 
found  to  have  contravened  any  of  the  points  above-mentioned, 
as  perturbators  of  our  state  and  of  the  general  quiet,  to  be 
punished  in  the  following  manner."  And  how  were  they  to 
be  punished  ?  What  was  the  penalty  inflicted  upon  the  man 
or  woman  who  owned  a  hymn-book,  or  who  hazarded  the 
opinion  in  private,  that  Luther  was  not  quite  wrong  in  doubt- 
ing the  power  of  a  monk  to  sell  for  money  the  license  to  com- 
mit murder  or  incest ;  or  upon  the  parent,  not  being  a  Roman 
Catholic  doctor  of  divinity,  who  should  read  Christ's  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  to  his  children  in  his  own  parlor  or  shop  ?  How 
were  crimes  like  these  to  be  visited  upon  the  transgressor  ? 
Was  it  by  reprimand,  fine,  imprisonment,  banishment,  or  by 
branding  on  the  forehead,  by  the  cropping  of  the  ears  or  the 
slitting  of  nostrils,  as  was  practised  upon  the  Puritan  fathers 
of  New  England  for  their  nonconformity  ?  It  was  by  a  sharper 
chastisement  than  any  of  these  methods.  The  Puritan  fathers 
of  the  Dutch  Republic  had  to  struggle  against  a  darker  doom. 
The  edict  went  on  to  provide — 

"  That  such  perturbators  of  the  general  quiet  are  to  be  ex- 
ecuted, to  wit :  the  men  with  the  sword  and  the  women  to 
be  buried  alive,  if  they  do  not  persist  in  their  errors  ;  if  they 
do  persist  in  them,  then  they  are  to  be  executed  with  fire  ;  all 
their  property  in  both  cases  being  confiscated  to  the  crown." 

Thus,  the  clemency  of  the  sovereign  permitted  the  repentant 
heretic  to  be  beheaded  or  buried  alive,  instead  of  being 
burned. 

The  edict  further  provided  against  all  misprision  of  heresy 
by  making  those  who  failed  to  betray  the  suspected  liable  to 
the  same  punishment  as  if  suspected  or  convicted  themselves  : 
"we  forbid,"  said  the  decree,  "all  persons  to  lodge,  entertain, 
furnish  with  food,  fire,  or  clothing,  or  otherwise  to  favor  any 
one  holden  or  notoriously  suspected  of  being  a  heretic  ;  *  *  * 
and  any  one  failing  to  denounce  any  such  we  ordain  shall  be 
liable  to  the  above-mentioned  punishments," 


1559.]  ITS   LEADING   PROVISIONS.  263 

The  edict  went  on  to  provide,  "  that  if  any  person,  being 
not  convicted  of  heresy  or  error,  but  greatly  suspected  thereof, 
and  therefore  condemned  by  the  spiritual  judge  to  abjure  such 
heresy,  or  by  the  secular  magistrate  to  make  public  fine  and 
reparation,  shall  again  become  suspected  or  tainted  with 
heresy — although  it  should  not  appear  that  he  has  contravened 
or  violated  any  one  of  our  above-mentioned  commands — never- 
theless, we  do  will  and  ordain  that  such  person  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  relapsed,  and,  as  such,  be  punished  with  loss  of  life 
and  property,  without  any  hope  of  moderation  or  mitigation  of 
the  above-mentioned  penalties." 

Furthermore,  it  was  decreed,  that  "  the  spiritual  judges, 
desiring  to  proceed  against  any  one  for  the  crime  of  heresy, 
shall  request  any  of  our  sovereign  courts  or  provincial  councils 
to  appoint  any  one  of  their  college,  or  such  other  adjunct  as 
the  council  shall  select,  to  preside  over  the  proceedings  to  be 
instituted  against  the  suspected.  All  who  know  of  any  person 
tainted  with  heresy  are  required  to  denounce  and  give  them 
up  to  all  judges,  officers  of  the  bishops,  or  others  having  au- 
thority on  the  premises,  on  pain  of  being  punished  according 
to  the  pleasure  of  the  judge.  Likewise,  all  shall  be  obliged, 
who  know  of  any  place  where  such  heretics  keep  themselves, 
to  declare  them  to  the  authorities,  on  pain  of  being  held  as 
accomplices,  and  punished  as  such  heretics  themselves  would 
be  if  apprehended." 

In  order  to  secure  the  greatest  number  of  arrests  by  a  direct 
appeal  to  the  most  ignoble,  but  not  the  least  powerful  prin- 
ciplc  of  human  nature,  it  was  ordained  "that  the  informer,  in 
case  of  conviction,  should  be  entitled  to  one  half  the  property 
of  the  accused,  if  not  more  than  one  hundred  pounds  Flemish  ; 
if  more,  then  ten  per  cent,  of  all  such  excess." 

Treachery  to  one's  friends  was  encouraged  by  the  provision, 
"  that  if  any  man  being  present  at  any  secret  conventicle, 
shall  afterwards  come  forward  and  betray  his  fellow-members 
of  the  congregation,  he  shall  receive  full  pardon." 

In  order  that  neither  the  good  people  of  the  Netherlands, 
nor  the  judges  and  inquisitors  should  delude  themselves  with 


264  THE    KISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

the  notion  that  these  fanatic  decrees  were  only  intended  to 
inspire  terror,  not  for  practical  execution,  the  sovereign  con- 
tinued to  ordain — "  to  the  end  that  the  judges  and  officers 
may  have  no  reason,  under  pretext  that  the  penalties  are  too 
great  and  heavy  and  only  devised  to  terrify  delinquents,  to 
punish  them  less  severely  than  they  deserve — that  the  cul- 
prits be  really  punished  by  the  penalties  above  declared  ; 
forbidding  all  judges  to  alter  or  moderate  the  penalties  in 
any  manner—; forbidding  any  one,  of  whatsoever  condition, 
to  ash  of  us,  or  of  any  one  having  authority,  to  grant  pardon, 
or  to  present  any  petition  in  favor  of  such  heretics,  exiles, 
or  fugitives,  on  penalty  of  being  declared  forever  incapable 
of  civil  and  military  office,  and  of  bein<r  arbitrarily  punished 
besides." 

Such  were  the  leading  provisions  of  this  famous  edict, 
originally  promulgated  in  1550  as  a  recapitulation  and  con- 
densation of  all  the  previous  ordinances  of  the  Emperor  upon 
religious  subjects.  By  its  style  and  title  it  was  a  perpetual 
edict,  and,  according  to  one  of  its  clauses,  was  to  be  published 
forever,  once  in  every  six  months,  in  every  city  and  village  of 
the  Netherlands.  It  had  been  promulgated  at  Augsburg, 
where  the  Emperor  was  holding  a  diet,  upon  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember. Its  severity  had  so  appalled  the  Dowager  Queen  of 
Hungary,  that  she  had  made  a  journey  to  Augsburg  expressly 
to  procure  a  mitigation  of  some  of  its  j)ro visions.*  The 
principal  alteration  which  she  was  able  to  obtain  of  the  Em- 
peror was,  however,  in  the  phraseology  only.  As  a  concession 
to  popular  prejudice,  the  words  "  spiritual  judges"  were  sub- 
stituted for  "  inquisitors"  wherever  that  expression  had  oc- 
curred in  the  original  draft,  f 

The  edict  had  been  re-enacted  by  the  express  advice  of  the 
Bishop  of  Arras,  immediately  on  the  accession  of  Philip.  The 
prelate  knew  the  value  of  the  Emperor's  name  ;  he  may  have 


*  Yiglii  Epist.   ad  dlversos  cxlviii.     Brandt.   Historic  der  Reformatio  in  en 
omtrent  de  Nederlanden  (Amst.,  1677),  i.  163,  b.  iii.     Grotii  Ann.  i.  17. 
f  Brandt,  Reformatie,  ubi  sup.     Bor,  i.  7-12. 


1559.]  ITS   RE-ENACTMENT.  265 

thought,  also,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  increase  the  sharp- 
ness of  the  ordinances.  "  I  advised  the  King,"  says  Gran- 
velle,  in  a  letter  written  a  few  years  later,  "  to  make  no 
change  in  the  placards,  hut  to  proclaim  the  text  drawn  up  by 
the  Emperor,  republishing  the  whole  as  the  King's  edict,  with" 
express  insertion  of  the  phrase,  '  Carolus,'  etc.  I  recommended 
this  lest  men  should  calumniate  his  Majesty  as  wishing  to 
introduce  novelties  in  the  matter  of  religion."* 

This  edict,  containing  the  provisions  which  have  been  laid 
before  the  reader,  was  now  to  be  enforced  with  the  utmost 
rigor  ;  every  official  personage,  from  the  stadholders  down, 
having  received  the  most  stringent  instructions  to  that  effect, 
under  Philip's  own  hand.  This  was  the  first  gift  of  Philip 
and  of  Granvelle  to  the  Netherlands  ;  of  the  monarch  who 
said  of  himself  that  he  had  always,  "  from  the  beginning  of 
his  government,  followed  the  path  of  clemency,  according  to 
his  natural  disposition,  so  well  known  to  all  the  world  ;"f  of 
the  prelate  who  said  of  himself,  "  that  he  had  ever  combated 
the  opinion  that  any  thing  could  be  accomplished  by  terror, 
death,  and  violence/'J 

During  the  period  of  the  French  and  Papal  war,  it  has  been 
seen  that  the  execution  of  these  edicts  had  been  permitted  to 
slacken.  It  was  now  resumed  with  redoubled  fury.  More- 
over, a  new  measure  had  increased  the  disaffection  and  dismay 
of  the  people,  already  sufficiently  filled  with  apprehension.  As 
an  additional  security  for  the  supremacy  of  the  ancient  relig- 
ion, it  had  been  thought  desirable  that  the  number  of  bishops 
should  be  increased.  There  were  but  four  sees  in  the  Nether- 
lands, those  of  Arras,  Cambray,  Tournay,  and  Utrecht.  That 
of  Utrecht  was  within  the  archiepiscopate  of  Cologne  ;  the 
other  three  were  within  that  of  Kheims.§  It  seemed  proper 
that  the  prelates  of  the  Netherlands  should  owe  no  extra- 
provincial    allegiance.      It  was   likewise  thought  that  three 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  478,  479. 

f  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives  etc.,  ix.  4G. 

X  Archives  etc.,  i.  187*.  §  Wagenaer,  vi.  G2,  G3 


266  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

millions  of  souls  required  more  than  four  spiritual  superin- 
tendents. At  any  rate,  whatever  might  be  the  interest  of  the 
flocks,  it  was  certain  that  those  broad  and  fertile  pastures 
would  sustain  more  than  the  present  number  of  shepherds. 
The  wealth  of  the  religious  houses  in  the  provinces  was  very 
great.  The  abbey  of  Afflighem  alone  had  a  revenue  of  fifty 
thousand  florins,  and  there  were  many  others  scarcely  inferior 
in  wealth.*  But  these  institutions  were  comparatively  inde- 
pendent both  of  King  and  Pope.  Electing  their  own  superiors 
from  time  to  time,  in  nowise  desirous  of  any  change  by 
which  their  ease  might  be  disturbed  and  their  riches  endan- 
gered, the  honest  friars  were  not  likely  to  engage  in  any 
very  vigorous  crusade  against  heresy,  nor  for  the  sake  of  in- 
troducing or  strengthening  Spanish  institutions,  which  they 
knew  to  be  abominated  by  the  people,  to  take  the  risk  of 
driving  all  their  disciples  into  revolt  and  apostacy.  Comfort- 
ing themselves  with  an  Erasmian  philosophy,  which  they 
thought  best  suited  to  the  times,  they  were  as  little  likely  as 
the  Sage  of  Kotterdam  himself  would  have  been,  to  make 
martyrs  of  themselves  for  the  sake  of  extirpating  Calvinism. 
The  abbots  and  monks  were,  in  political  matters,  very  much 
under  the  influence  of  the  great  nobles,  in  whose  company 
they  occupied  the  benches  of  the  upper  house  of  the  States- 
general. 

Doctor  Francis  Sonnius  had  been  sent  on  a  mission  to  the 
Pope,  for  the  purpose  of  representing  the  necessity  of  an  increase 
in  the  episcopal  force  of  the  Netherlands.  Just  as  the  King 
was  taking  his  departure,  the  commissioner  arrived,  bringing 
with  Mm  the  Bull  of  Paul  the  Fourth,  dated  May  18,  1559, 
This  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  that  of  Pius  the  Fourth,  in 
January  of  the  following  year.f  The  document  stated^  that 
"  Paul  the  Fourth,  slave  of  slaves,  wishing  to  provide  for  the 
welfare  of  the  provinces  and  the  eternal  salvation  of  their 
inhabitants,  had   determined  to  plant  in  that  fruitful  field 


*  Bor,  i.  23.  f  Bor,  i.  24,  sqq 

X  See  the  document  in  Bor,  i.  24-26. 


1559.]  BULL   OF   THE   BISHOPRICS.  267 

several  new  bishoprics.  The  enemy  of  mankind  being  abroad/' 
said  the  Bull,  "  in  so  many  forms  at  that  particular  time, 
and  the  Netherlands,  then  under  the  sway  of  that  beloved 
son  of  his  holiness,  Philip  the  Catholic,  being  compassed  about 
with  heretic  and  schismatic  nations,  it  was  believed  that  the 
eternal  welfare  of  the  land  was  in  great  danger.  At  the  period 
of  the  original  establishment  of  Cathedral  churches,  the  prov- 
inces had  been  sparsely  peopled  ;  they  had  now  become  filled 
to  overflowing,  so  that  the  original  ecclesiastical  arrangement 
did  not  suffice.  The  harvest  ivas  plentiful,  but  the  laborers 
were  few." 

In  consideration  of  these  and  other  reasons,  three  arch- 
bishoprics were  accordingly  appointed.  That  of  Mechlin  was 
to  be  principal,  under  which  were  constituted  six  bishoprics, 
those,  namely,  of  Antwerp,  Bois  le  Due,  Rurmond,  Ghent, 
Bruges  and  Ypres.  That  of  Cambray  was  second,  with  the 
four  subordinate  dioceses  of  Tournay,  Arras,  Saint  Omer  and 
Namur.  The  third  archbishopric  was  that  of  Utrecht,  with 
the  five  sees  of  Haarlem,  Middelburg,  Leeuwarden,  Gronin- 
gen  and  D e venter. * 

The  nomination  to  these  important  offices  was  granted  to 
the  King,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Pope.  Moreover,  it 
was  ordained  by  the  Bull  that  "  each  bishop  should  appoint 
nine  additional  prebendaries ,  who  were  to  assist  him  in  the 
matter  of  the  inquisition  throughout  his  bishopric,  two  of  whom 
were  themselves  to  be  inqiiisitors." 

To  sustain  these  two  great  measures,  through  which  Philip 
hoped  once  and  forever  to  extinguish  the  Netherland  heresy, 
it  was  considered  desirable  that  the  Spanish  troops  still  re- 
maining in  the  provinces,  should  be  kept  there  indefinitely. f 

The  force  was  not  large,  amounting  hardly  to  four  thousand 
men,  but  they  were  unscrupulous,  and  admirably  disciplined. 
As  the  entering  wedge,  by  which  a  military  and  ecclesiastical 
despotism  was  eventually  to  be  forced  into  the  very  heart  of 


*  Bor,  i.  24-26.     Bentivoglio,  i.  10-  f  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


268  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1559. 

the  land,  they  were  invaluable.  The  moral  effect  to  be  hoped 
from  the  regular  presence  of  a  Spanish  standing  army  during 
a  time  of  peace  in  the  Netherlands  could  hardly  be  exaggerat- 
ed. Philip  was  therefore  determined  to  employ  every  argu- 
ment and  subterfuge  to  detain  the  troops. 


CHAPTER    II. 


Agitation  in  the  Netherlands — The  ancient  charters  resorted  to  as  barriers 
against  the  measures  of  government — "Joyous  entrance"  of  Brabant — Con- 
stitution of  Holland — Growing  unpopularity  of  Antony  Perrenot,  Arch- 
bishop of  Mechlin — Opposition  to  the  new  bishoprics,  by  Orango,  Egmont, 
and  other  influential  nobles — Fury  of  the  people  at  the  continued  presence 
of  the  foreign  soldiery — Orange  resigns  the  command  of  the  legion — Tho 
troops  recalled — Philip's  personal  attention  to  the  details  of  persecution — , 
Perrenot  becomes  Cardinal  de  Granvelle — All  the  power  of  government  in 
his  hands — His  increasing  unpopularity — Animosity  and  violence  of  Egmont 
towards  the  Cardinal — Relations  between  Orange  and  Granvelle — Ancient 
friendship  gradually  changing  to  enmity — Renewal  of  the  magistracy  at 
Antwerp — Quarrel  between  the  Prince  and  Cardinal — Joint  letter  of 
Orange  and  Egmont  to  the  King — Answer  of  the  King — Indignation  of 
Philip  against  Count  Horn — Secret  correspondence  between  the  King  and 
Cardinal — Remonstrances  against  the  new  bishoprics — Philip's  private  finan- 
cial statements — Penury  of  the  exchequer  in  Spain  and  in  the  provinces — 
Plan  for  debasing  the  coin — Marriage  of  William  the  Silent  with  the  Princess 
of  Lorraine  circumvented— Negotiations  for  his  matrimonial  alliance  with 
Princess  Anna  of  Saxony — Correspondence  between  Granvelle  and  Philip 
upon  the  subject — Opposition  of  Landgrave  Philip  and  of  Philip  the  Second — 
Character  and  conduct  of  Elector  Augustus — Mission  of  Count  Schwartzburg 
— Communications  of  Orange  to  the  King  and  to  Duchess  Margaret — Char- 
acteristic letter  of  Philip — Artful  conduct  of  Granvelle  and  of  the  Regent — 
Visit  of  Orange  to  Dresden — Proposed  "  note"  of  Elector  Augustus — Re- 
fusal of  the  Prince — Protest  of  the  Landgrave  against  the  marriage — Prep- 
arations for  the  wedding  at  Leipzig — Notarial  instrument  drawn  up  on  the 
marriage  day — Wedding  ceremonies  and  festivities — Entrance  of  Granvelle 
into  Mechlin  aa  Archbishop — Compromise  in  Brabant  between  the  abbeys 
and  bishops. 

The  years  1560  and  1561  were  mainly  occupied  with  the 
agitation  and  dismay  produced  by  the  causes  set  forth  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

Against  the  arbitrary  policy  embodied  in  the  edicts,  the  new 
bishoprics  and  the  foreign  soldiery,  the  Netherlander  appealed 


270  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1560. 

to  their  ancient  constitutions.  These  charters  were  called 
"  hand  vests"  in  the  vernacular  Dutch  and  Flemish,  because 
the  sovereign  made  them  fast  with  his  hand.  As  already 
stated,  Philip  had  made  them  faster  than  any  of  the  princes 
of  his  house  had  ever  done,  so  far  as  oath  and  signature  could 
accomplish  that  purpose,  both  as  hereditary  prince  in  1549, 
and  as  monarch  in  1555.  The  reasons  for  the  extensive  and 
unconditional  manner  in  which  he  swore  to  support  the  pro- 
vincial charters,  have  been  already  indicated. 

Of  these  constitutions,  that  of  Brabant,  known  by  the  title 
of  the  joyeuse  entr&e,  blyde  inkomst,  or  blithe  entrance,  fur- 
nished the  most  decisive  barrier  against  the  present  whole- 
sale tyranny.  First  and  foremost,  the  "joyous  entry'*  prov- 
ided "  that  the  prince  of  the  land  should  not  elevate  the 
clerical  state  higher  than  of  old  has  been  customary  and  by 
former  princes  settled  ;  unless  by  consent  of  the  other  two 
estates,  the  nobility  and  the  cities."* 

Again  ;  "  the  prince  can  prosecute  no  one  of  Ins  subjects  nor 
any  foreign  resident,  civilly  or  criminally,  except  in  the  or- 
dinary and  open  courts  of  justice  in  the  province,  where  the 
accused  may  answer  and  defend  himself  with  the  help  of  ad- 
vocates."f 

Further  ;  "  the  prince  shall  appoint  no  foreigners  to  office 
in  Brabant."J 

Lastly  ;  "  should  the  prince,  by  force  or  otherwise,  violate 
any  of  these  privileges,  the  inhabitants  of  Brabant,  after 
regular  protest  entered,  are  discharged  of  their  oaths  of  alleg- 
iance, and  as  free,  independent  and  unbound  people,  may  con- 
duct themselves  exactly  as  seems  to  them  best."§ 

Such  were  the  leading  features,  so  far  as  they  regarded  the 
points  now  at  issue,  of  that  famous  constitution  which  was  so 
highly  esteemed  in  the  Netherlands,  that  mothers  came  to  the 


*  Die  Blyde  Inkomste  dem  Hertochdom  v.  Brabant,  by  Philippus,  Conink  v- 
Hispanien  solennlick  geschworen.  Gedruckt  tot  Cuelen,  1564. — Compare  Bor,  i. 
19  ;  Meteren,  i.  28. 

f  Ibid.  I  Ibid.  §  Ibid. — Compare  Apologie  d'Orange,  69,  70. 


1560.]  VIOLATION   OF   THE    CONSTITUTION.  271 

province  in  order  to  give  birth  to  their  children,  who  might 
thus  enjoy,  as  a  birthright,  the  privileges  of  Brabant.  Yet 
the  charters  of  the  other  provinces  ought  to  have  been  as 
effective  against  the  arbitrary  course  of  the  government.* 
"  No  foreigner,"  said  the  constitution  of  Holland,  "  is  eligible 
as  councillor,  financier,  magistrate,  or  member  of  a  court. 
Justice  can  be  administered  only  by  the  ordinary  tribunals 
and  magistrates.  The  ancient  laws  and  customs  shall  re- 
main inviolable.  Should  the  prince  infringe  any  of  these 
provisions,  no  one  is  bound  to  obey  him."f 

These  provisions,  from  the  Brabant  and  Holland  charters, 
are  only  cited  as  illustrative  of  the  general  spirit  of  the  pro- 
vincial constitutions.  Nearly  all  the  provinces  possessed  priv- 
ileges equally  ample,  duly  signed  and  sealed.  So  far  as 
ink  and  sealing  wax  could  defend  a  land  against  sword  and 
fire,  the  Netherlands  were  impregnable  against  the  edicts 
and  the  renewed  episcopal  inquisition.  Unfortunately,  all 
history  shows  how  feeble  are  barriers  of  paper  or  lambskin, 
even  when  hallowed  with  a  monarch's  oath,  against  the  torrent 
of  regal  and  ecclesiastical  absolutism.  It  was  on  the  reception 
in  the  provinces  of  the  new  and  confirmatory  Bull  concerning 
the  bishoprics,  issued  in  January,  1560,  that  the  measure 
became  known,  and  the  dissatisfaction  manifest.  The  dis- 
content was  inevitable  and  universal.  The  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment which  was  not  to  be  enlarged  or  elevated  but  by 
consent  of  the  estates,  was  suddenly  expanded  into  three 
archiepiscopates  and  fifteen  bishoprics.  The  administration 
of  justice,  which  was  only  allowed  in  free  and  local  courts, 
distinct  for  each  province,  was  to  be  placed,  so  far  as  regarded 
the  most  important  of  human  interests,  in  the  hands  of 
bishops  and  their  creatures,  many  of  them  foreigners  and 
most  of  them  monks.  The  fives  and  property  of  the  whole 
population  were  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  these  utterly  irrespon- 
sible conclaves.  All  classes  were  outraged.  The  nobles  were 
offended  because  ecclesiastics,  perhaps   foreign  ecclesiastics, 


*  Bor,  ubi  sup.     Meteren,  28,  29.  f  Ibid.    Ibid. 


272  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1560. 

were  to  be  empowered  to  sit  in  the  provincial  estates  and  to 
control  their  proceedings  in  place  of  easy,  indolent,  ignorant 
abbots  and  friars,  who  had  generally  accepted  the  influence  of 
the  great  seignors.*  The  priests  were  enraged  because  the 
religious  houses  were  thus  taken  out  of  their  control  and  con- 
fiscated  to  a  bench  of  bishops,  usurping  the  places  of  those 
superiors  who  had  formally  been  elected  by  and  among  them- 
selves. The  people  were  alarmed  because  the  monasteries, 
although  not  respected  nor  popular,  were  at  least  charitable-}- 
and  without  ambition  to  exercise  ecclesiastical  cruelty  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  by  the  new  episcopal  arrangements,  a  force 
of  thirty  new  inquisitors  was  added  to  the  apparatus  for 
enforcing  orthodoxy  already  established.  The  odium  of  the 
measure  was  placed  upon  the  head  of  that  churchman,  already 
appointed  Archbishop  of  Mechlin,  and  soon  to  be  known  as 
Cardinal  Granvelle.  From  this  time  forth,  this  prelate  began 
to  be  regarded  with  a  daily  increasing  aversion.  He  was 
looked  upon  as  the  incarnation  of  all  the  odious  measures 
which  had  been  devised  ;  as  the  source  of  that  policy  of 
absolutism  which  revealed  itself  more  and  more  rapidly  after 
the  King's  departure  from  the  country.  It  was  for  this  reason 
that  so  much  stress  was  laid  by  popular  clamor  upon  the  clause 
prohibiting  foreigners  from  office.  Granvelle  was  a  Burgun- 
dian  ;  his  father  had  passed  most  of  his  active  life  in  Spain, 
while  both  he  and  his  more  distinguished  son  were  identified 
in  the  general  mind  with  Spanish  politics.  To  this  prelate, 
then,  were  ascribed  the  edicts,  the  new  bishoprics,  and  the 
continued  presence  of  the  foreign  troops.  The  people  were 
right  as  regarded  the  first  accusation.  They  were  mistaken  as 
to  the  other  charges. 

The  King  had  not  consulted  Anthony  Perrenot  with  regard 
to  the  creation  of  the  new  bishoprics.  The  measure,  which 
had  been  successively  contemplated  by  Philip  "  the  Good," 
by  Charles  the  Bold,  and  by  the  Emperor  Charles,  had  now 


*  Papiera  d'Etat,  v.  309. 

f  Hoofd,  i.  29,  30.     Bor,  L  19.     Meteren,  i.  28. 


1560.]  granvelle's  course.  273 

been  carried  out  by  Philip  the  Second,  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  new  Archbishop  of  Mechlin.  The  King  had  for  once 
been  able  to  deceive  the  astuteness  of  the  prelate,  and  had 
concealed  from  hirn  the  intended  arrangement,  until  the  arrival 
of  Sonnius  with  the  Bulls.  Granvelle  gave  the  reasons  for 
this  mystery  with  much  simplicity.  "  His  Majesty  knew," 
he  said,  "  that  I  should  oppose  it,  as  it  was  more  honorable 
and  lucrative  to  be  one  of  four  than  one  of  eighteen."*  In 
fact,  according  to  his  own  statement,  he  lost  money  by 
becoming  archbishop  of  Mechlin,  and  ceasing  to  be  Bishop 
of  Arras.f  For  these  reasons  he  declined,  more  than  once, 
the  proffered  dignity,  and  at  last  only  accepted  it  from  fear  of 
giving  offence  to  the  King,  and  after  having  secured  compen- 
sation for  his  alleged  losses.  In  the  same  letter  (of  29th 
May,  1560)  in  which  he  thanked  Philip  for  conferring  upon 
him  the  rich  abbey  of  Saint  Armand,  which  he  had  solicited, 
in  addition  to  the  "  merced"  in  ready  money,  concerning  the 
safe  investment  of  which  he  had  already  sent  directions,  he 
observed  that  he  was  now  willing  to  accept  the  archbishopric 
of  Mechlin  ;  notwithstanding  the  odium  attached  to  the 
measure,  notwithstanding  his  feeble  powers,  and  notwith- 
standing that,  during  the  life  of  the  Bishop  of  Tournay,  who 
was  then  in  rude  health,  he  could  only  receive  three  thousand 
ducats  of  the  revenue,  giving  up  Arras  and  gaining  nothing 
in  Mechlin  ;  notwithstanding  all  this,  and  a  thousand  other 
things  besides,  he  assured  his  Majesty  that,  "  since  the 
royal  desire  was  so  strong  that  he  should  accept,  he  would 
consider  nothing  so  difficult  that  he  would  not  at  least  attempt 


*  " et  Ton  a  voulu  persuader  ancuns  quo  je  fusse  auteur  do  ceste  nou- 

vellite et  par  sa  lettre  sa  M.  mo  dit  quo  l'ou  mo  faisoit  grand  tort,  confes- 

sant  que  en  ceste  negotiation  elle  s'estoit  cache  de  moy  d'aultant  que  lea 

aultres  et  trois  evesques  que  nous  estions  lors  et  moy  le  contredisions,  comme  il 
estoit  vraysemblable,  pour  que  il  est  plus  honorable  estre  un  de  quatre  que  ung 
de  dix-sept." — Memoir  of  Granvelle  in  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  76. 
See  also  Archives  etc.,  viii.  54. 

t  ' ' et  quant  au  prouffit  je  feroy  apparoir  qu'an  revenu  que  je  y  ay  reoeq 

perte  notable." — Ibid. 

VOL.   I.  18 


274  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1560. 

it."*  Having  made  up  his  mind  to  take  the  see  and 
support  the  new  arrangements,  he  was  resolved  that  his 
profits  should  be  as  large  as  possible.  We  have  seen  how  he 
had  already  been  enabled  to  indemnify  himself.  We  shall 
find  him  soon  afterwards  importuning  the  King  for  the  Abbey 
of  AfHighein,  the  enormous  revenue  of  which  the  prelate 
thought  would  make  another  handsome  addition  to  the  rewards 
of  his  sacrifices.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  most  anxious  that 
the  people,  and  particularly  the  great  nobles,  should  not  ascribe 
the  new  establishment  to  him,  as  they  persisted  in  doing. 
"  They  say  that  the  episcopates  were  devised  to  gratify  my 
ambition,"  he  wrote  to  Philip  two  years  later ;  "  whereas 
your  Majesty  knows  how  steadily  I  refused  the  see  of  Mechlin, 
and  that  I  only  accepted  it  in  order  not  to  live  in  idleness, 
doing  nothing  for  God  and  your  Majesty."f  He  therefore 
instructed  Philip,  on  several  occasions,  to  make  it  known  to 
the  government  of  the  Kegent,  to  the  seignors,  and  to  the 
country  generally,  that  the  measure  had  been  arranged  with- 
out his  knowledge ;  that  the  Marquis  Berghen  had  known  of  it 
first,  and  that  the  prelate  had,  in  truth,  been  kept  in  the  dark 
on  the  subject  until  the  arrival  of  Sonnius  with  the  Bulls. 
The  King,  always  docile  to  his  minister,  accordingly  wrote  to 
the  Duchess  the  statements  required,  in  almost  the  exact 
phraseology  suggested  ;  taking  pains  to  repeat  the  declarations 
on  several  occasions,  both  by  letter  and  by  word  of  mouth,  to 
many  influential  persons.  J 

The  people,  however,  persisted  in  identifying  the  Bishop 
with  the  scheme.  They  saw  that  he  was  the  head  of  the  new 
institutions ;  that  he  was  to  receive  the  lion's  share  of  the 
confiscated  abbeys,  and  that  he  was  foremost  in  defending  and 
carrying  through  the  measure,  in  spite  of  all  opposition. 
That  opposition  waxed  daily  more  bitter,  till  the  Cardinal, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  96-98. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562. 

i  Correspondance  de  Phil.  II.,  t.  i.  207. 


1560.]  ORANGE   LEADS  THE   OPPOSITION.  275 

notwithstanding  that  he  characterized  the  arrangement  to  the 
King  as  "  a  holy  work/'*  and  warmly  assured  Secretary  Perez 
that  he  would  contribute  his  fortune,  his  blood,  and  his  life, 
to  its  success,f  was  yet  obliged  to  exclaim  in  the  bitterness  of 
his  spirit,  "  Would  to  God  that  the  erection  of  these  new  sees 
had  never  been  thought  of.     Amen  !  Amen  !"J 

Foremost  in  resistance  was  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Al- 
though a  Catholic,  he  had  no  relish  for  the  horrible  perse- 
cution which  had  been  determined  upon.  The  new  bishoprics 
he  characterized  afterwards  as  parts  "  of  one  grand  scheme 
for  establishing  the  cruel  inquisition  of  Spain ;  the  said 
bishops  to  serve  as  inquisitors,  burners  of  bodies,  and  tyrants 
of  conscience  :  two  prebendaries  in  each  see  being  actually 
constituted  inquisitors."§  For  this  reason  he  omitted  no 
remonstrance  on  the  subject  to  the  Duchess,  to  Granvelle,  and 
by  direct  letters  to  the  King.  His  efforts  were  seconded  by 
Egmont,  Berghen,  and  other  influential  nobles.  Even  Berlay- 
mont  was  at  first  disposed  to  side  with  the  opposition,  but 
upon  the  argument  used  by  the  Duchess,  that  the  bishoprics 
and  prebends  would  furnish  excellent  places  for  his  sons  and 
other  members  of  the  aristocracy,  he  began  warmly  to  support 
the  measure.  1 1  Most  of  the  labor,  however,  and  all  the  odium, 
of  the  business  fell  upon  the  Bishop's  shoulders.  Th(a:e  was 
still  a  large  fund  of  loyalty  left  in  the  popular  mind,  which 
not  even  forty  years  of  the  Emperor's  dominion  had  consumed, 
and  which  Philip  was  destined  to  draw  upon  as  prodigally  as 
if  the  treasure  had  been  inexhaustible.  For  these  reasons  it 
still  seemed  most  decorous  to  load  all  the  hatred  upon  the 
minister's  back,  and  to  retain  the  consolatory  formula  that 
Philip  was  a  prince,  "  clement,  benign,  and  debonair." 

The  Bishop,  true  to  his  habitual   conviction,  that  words, 


*  "  Tan  sancta  obra." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  3. 
f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  189. 

X  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  341.     " plugiera  a  Dios  que  jamas  se  huviera  pensado 

en  esta  erection  destas  yglesias.     Amen !     Amen !" 

§  Apologie,  92,  93.  |  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  332. 


276  THE   EISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1560. 

with  the  people,  are  much  more  important  than  things,  was 
disposed  to  have  the  word  "  inquisitor"  taken  out  of  the  text 
of  the  new  decree.  He  was  anxious  at  this  juncture  to  make 
things  pleasant,  and  he  saw  no  reason  why  men  should  be 
unnecessarily  startled.  If  the  inquisition  could  be  practised, 
and  the  heretics  burned,  he  was  in  favor  of  its  being  done 
comfortably.  The  word  "inquisitor"  was  unpopular,  almost 
indecent.  It  was  better  to  suppress  the  term  and  retain  the 
thing.  "  People  are  afraid  to  speak  of  the  new  bishoprics," 
he  wrote  to  Perez,  aon  account  of  the  clause  providing  that 
of  nine  canons  one  shall  be  inquisitor.  Hence  people  fear 
the  Spanish  inquisition."*  He,  therefore,  had  written  to  the 
King  to  suggest  instead,  that  the  canons  or  graduates  should 
be  obliged  to  assist  the  Bishop,  according  as  he  might  com- 
mand. Those  terms  would  suffice,  because,  although  not  ex- 
pressly stated,  it  was  clear  that  the  Bishop  was  an  ordinary 
inquisitor ;  but  it  was  necessary  to  expunge  words  that  gave 
offence.^ 

It  was  difficult,  however,  with  all  the  Bishop's  eloquence 
and  dexterity,  to  construct  an  agreeable  inquisition.  The 
people  did  not  like  it,  in  any  shape,  and  there  were  indications, 
not  to  be  mistaken,  that  one  day  there  would  be  a  storm  which 
it  would  be  beyond  human  power  to  assuage.  At  present  the 
people  directed  their  indignation  only  upon  a  part  of  the 
machinery  devised  for  their  oppression.  The  Spanish  troops 
were  considered  as  a  portion  of  the  apparatus  by  which  the 
new  bishoprics  and  the  edicts  were  to  be  forced  into  execution. 
Moreover,  men  were  weary  of  the  insolence  and  the  pillage 
which  these  mercenaries  had  so  long  exercised  in  the  land. 
When  the  King  had  been  first  requested  to  withdraw  them,  we 
have  seen  that  he  had  burst  into  a  violent  passion.  He  had 
afterward  dissembled.     Promising,  at  last,  that  they  should  all 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  200. 

f  "Pues  aunque  no  se  diga,  claro  es  que  el  obispo  es  inquisidor  ordinario,  sino 
que  es  menester  quitar  las  palabras  que  ofenden." — Ibid. 


1560.]        POPULAR  HAGE   AGAINST   THE   MERCENARIES.  277 

he  sent  from  the  country  within  three  or  four  months  after 
his  departure,  he  had  determined  to  use  every  artifice  to  detain 
them  in  the  provinces.  He  had  succeeded,  by  various  subter- 
fuges, in  keeping  them  there  fourteen  months  ;  but  it  was  at 
last  evident  that  their  presence  would  no  longer  be  tolerated. 
Towards  the  close  of  1560  they  were  quartered  in  Walcheren 
and  Brill.  The  Zelanders,  however,  had  become  so  exasperated 
by  their  presence  that  they  resolutely  refused  to  lay  a  single 
hand  upon  the  dykes,  which,  as  usual  at  that  season,  required 
great  repairs.*  Eather  than  see  their  native  soil  profaned 
any  longer  by  these  hated  foreign  mercenaries,  they  would  see 
it  sunk  forever  in  the  ocean.  They  swore  to  perish — men, 
women,  and  children  together — in  the  waves,  rather  than 
endure  longer  the  outrages  which  the  soldiery  daily  inflicted. 
Such  was  the  temper  of  the  Zelanders  that  it  was  not  thought 
wise  to  trifle  with  their  irritation.  The  Bishop  felt  that  it  was 
no  longer  practicable  to  detain  the  troops,  and  that  all  the 
pretext  devised  by  Philip  and  his  government  had  become 
ineffectual.  In  a  session  of  the  State  Council,  held  on  the 
25th  October,  1560,f  he  represented  in  the  strongest  terms  to 
the  Regent  the  necessity  for  the  final  departure  of  the  troops. 
Viglius,  who  knew  the  character  of  his  countrymen,  stremu 
ously  seconded  the  proposal.  Orange  briefly  but  firmly  ex- 
pressed the  same  opinion,  declining  any  longer  to  serve  as 
commander  of  the  legion,  an  office  which,  in  conjunction  with 
Egmont,  he  had  accepted  provisionally,  with  the  best  of 
motives,  and  on  the  pledge  of  Philip  that  the  soldiers  should 
be  withdrawn.  The  Duchess  urged  that  the  order  should  at 
least  be  deferred  until  the  arrival  of  Count  Egmont,  then  in 
Spain,  but  the  proposition  was  unanimously  negatived.^ 

Letters  were  accordingly  written,  in  the  name  of  the  Regent, 
to   the  King.      It   was    stated   that   the    measure   could  no 


*  Ber,  L  18-22.     Strada,  iii.  87. 

f  See  a  proces  verbal  of  this  Session  in  Gachard,  Documents  Ine'dits,  i.  330, 
331.  X  Jbid 


278  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1560. 

longer  be  delayed,  that  the  provinces  all  agreed  in  this  point, 
that  so  long  as  the  foreigners  remained  not  a  stiver  should 
be  paid  into  the  treasury  ;  that  if  they  had  once  set  sail, 
the  necessary  amount  for  their  arrears  would  be  furnished 
to  the  government ;  but  that  if  they  should  return  it  was 
probable  that  they  would  be  resisted  by  the  inhabitants  with 
main  force,  and  that  they  would  only  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  cities  through  a  breach  in  their  wall.'*  It  was  urged, 
moreover,  that  three  or  four  thousand  Spaniards  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  coerce  all  the  provinces,  and  that  there  was  not 
money  enough  in  the  royal  exchequer  to  pay  the  wages  of  a 
single  company  of  the  troops.f  "  It  cuts  me  to  the  heart," 
wrote  the  Bishop  to  Philip,  "to  see  the  Spanish  infantry 
leave  us  ;  but  go  they  must.  Would  to  God  that  we  could 
devise  any  pretext,  as  your  Majesty  desires,  under  which  to 
keep  them  here  !  We  have  tried  all  means  humanly  possible 
for  retaining  them,  but  I  see  no  way  to  do  it  without  putting 
the  provinces  in  manifest  danger  of  sudden  revolt.";]; 

Fortunately  for  the  dignity  of  the  government,  or  for  the 
repose  of  the  country,  a  respectable  motive  was  found  for  em- 
ploying the  legion  elsewhere.  The  important  loss  which  Spain 
had  recently  met  with  in  the  capture  of  Zerby  made  a  reinforce- 
ment necessary  in  the  army  engaged  in  the  Southern  service. 
Thus,  the  disaster  in  Barbary  at  last  relieved  the  Netherlands 
of  the  pest  which  had  afflicted  them  so  long.§  For  a  brief 
breathing  space  the  country  was  cleared  of  foreign  mercenaries. 

The  growing   unpopularity  of  the  royal  government,  still 


*  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  62. 

f  Meteren,  i.  24.     Bor,  i.  18-22.     Strada  ill.  87-89. 

\  "  En  el  alma  aiento  ver  partir  la  infanteria  Espanola." — Papiers  d'Etat, 
vi.  25. 

"  Conferi  con  su  Alt.  sobre  el  negocio  de  la  quedada  aqui  de  los  Espafioles,  y 
Be  han  intendado  todas  las  vias  humanamente  possibles,  mas  enfin  no  veo  forma 
ny  camino  que,  sin  poner  estos  estados  en  manifiesto  peligro  de  subita  rebuelta, 
ee  puede  diferir  la  execucion  de  su  yda,  si  el  tiempo  lo  consiente." — Groen  v. 
Prinst.  Archives  etc.,  i.  61. 

§  Meteren,  i.  24.     Bor,  L  18-22.     Strada,  hi.  87-89. 


1560.]  THE   INQUISITOR-KING.  279 

typified,  however,  in  the  increasing  hatred  entertained  for  the 
Bishop,  was  not  materially  diminished  by  the  departure  of  the 
Spaniards.  The  edicts  and  the  bishoprics  were  still  there,  even 
if  the  soldiers  were  gone.  The  churchman  worked  faithfully 
to  accomplish  his  master's  business.  Philip,  on  his  side,  was 
industrious  to  bring  about  the  consummation  of  his  measures. 
Ever  occupied  with  details,  the  monarch,  from  his  palace  in 
Spain,  sent  frequent  informations  against  the  humblest  indi- 
viduals in  the  Netherlands.  It  is  curious  to  observe  the  mi- 
nute reticulations  of  tyranny  which  he  had  begun  already  to 
spin  about  a  whole  people,  while  cold,  venomous,  and  patient 
he  watched  his  victims  from  the  centre  of  his  web.  He  for- 
warded particular  details  to  the  Duchess  and  Cardinal  con- 
cerning a  variety  of  men  and  women,  sending  their  names, 
ages,  personal  appearance,  occupations,  and  residence,  to- 
gether with  directions  for  their  immediate  immolation.*  Even 
the  inquisitors  of  Seville  were  set  to  work  to  increase,  by 
means  of  their  branches  or  agencies  in  the  provinces,  the 
royal  information  on  this  all-important  subject.  "  There  are 
but  few  of  us  left  in  the  world/'  he  moralized  in  a  letter  to 
the  Bishop,  "  who  care  for  religion.  'Tis  necessary,  therefore, 
for  us  to  take  the  greater  heed  for  Christianity.  We  must  lose 
our  all,  if  need  be,  in  order  to  do  our  duty  ;  in  fine,"  added 
he,  with  his  usual  tautology,  "  it  is  right  that  a  man  should 
do  his  duty."f 


*  Strada,   iv.   142. —  " gubernatricem  doceret   rationem  haereticos  inter- 

cipiendi ;  eorum  tanquam  vestigia  et  cubilia  ipse  monstraret :  etiam  indices  (qitos 
kabeo  regiis  litteris  inclusos)  ea  diligentia  confectos,  ita  cujusque  conditione,  vicinia, 
estate,  statura  ad  unguem  explicatis."  The  Jesuit  can  hardly  find  words  strong 
enough  to  express  his  admiration  for  the  diligence  thus  displayed  by  the  King : 
"  ut  miro  profecto  sit,"  he  continues,  "  principem  in  tam  multas  distractum  divers- 
umque  Regnorum  curas,  huic  rei  quasi  per  otium  vacasse:  inquirendisque  homini- 
bus  plerumq.  obscuris,  sollicitudine  etiam  in  privato  cive  admiranda  cogitationem 
manumque  flexisse." — Compare  Hoofd,  i.  38. 

t  " y  quan  pocos  ay  ya  en  el  mundo  quo  curen  della  religion  y  assi  los 

pocos  que  quedamos  cs  menester  quo  tengamos  mas  cuydado  do  la  Christiandad 
y  si  fuero  menester  lo  perdamos  todo  por  hazer  en  esto  lo  que  devemos  ;  pero  en 
fin  es  bien  quo  hombre  haga  lo  quo  devc." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  149. 


280  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1501. 

Granvelle — as  he  must  now  be  called,  for  his  elevation  to 
the  cardinalship  will  he  immediately  alluded  to — wrote  to 
assure  the  King  that  every  pains  would  he  taken  to  ferret  out 
and  execute  the  individuals  complained  of.*  He  bewailed, 
however,  the  want  of  heartiness  on  the  part  of  the  Netherland 
inquisitors  and  judges.  "  I  find,"  said  he,  "  that  all  judicial 
officers  go  into  the  matter  of  executing  the  edicts  with  reluct- 
ance, which  I  believe  is  caused  by  their  fear  of  displeasing  the 
populace.  When  they  do  act  they  do  it  but  languidly,  and 
when  these  matters  are  not  taken  in  hand  with  the  necessary 
liveliness,  the  fruit  desired  is  not  gathered.  We  do  not  fail  to 
exhort  and  to  command  them  to  do  their  work/'f  He  added 
that  Viglius  and  Berlaymont  displayed  laudable  zeal,  but 
that  he  could  not  say  as  much  for  the  Council  of  Brabant. 
Those  councillors  "  were  forever  prating,"  said  he,  "  of  the 
constitutional  rights  of  their  province,  and  deserved  much 
less  commendation."* 

The  popularity  of  the  churchman,  not  increased  by  these 
desperate  exertions  to  force  an  inhuman  policy  upon  an  unfor- 
tunate nation,  received  likewise  no  addition  from  his  new 
elevation  in  rank.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1560, 
Margaret  of  Parma,  who  still  entertained  a  profound  admira- 
tion of  the  prelate,  and  had  not  yet  begun  to  chafe  under  his 
smooth  but  imperious  dominion,  had  been  busy  in  preparing 
for  him  a  delightful  surprise.  Without  either  his  knowledge 
or  that  of  the  King,  she  had  corresponded  with  the  Pope,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining,  as  a  personal  favor  to  herself,  the 
Cardinal's  hat  for  Anthony  Perrenot.§  In  February,  1561, 
Cardinal  Borromeo  wrote  to  announce  that  the  coveted  dignity 
had  been  bestowed.||  The  Duchess  hastened,  with  joyous 
alacrity,  to  communicate  the  intelligence  to  the  Bishop,  but 
was  extremely  hurt  to  find  that  he  steadily  refused  to  assume 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  208-210.  f  Ibid. 

\  "  Con  alegar  a  cada  passo  su  joyeuse  entree." — Ibid. 
§  Strada,  iii.  92.     Dom  l'Evesquo  Memoires,  i.  256-264. 
|  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  296,  297. 


1561.]  THE  cakdinal's  hat.  281 

his  new  dignity,  until  he  had  written  to  the  King  to  announce 
the  appointment,  and  to  ask  his  permission  to  accept  the 
honor.*  The  Duchess,  justly  wounded  at  his  refusal  to  accept 
from  her  hands  the  favor  which  she,  and  she  only,  had  ob- 
tained for  him,  endeavored  in  vain  to  overcome  his  pertinacity. 
She  represented  that  although  Philip  was  not  aware  of  the 
application  or  the  appointment,  he  was  certain  to  regard  it  as 
an  agreeable  surprise,  f  She  urged,  moreover,  that  his  tempo- 
rary refusal  would  be  misconstrued  at  Eome,  where  it  would 
certainly  excite  ridicule,  and  very  possibly  give  offence  in  the 
highest  quarter. %  The  Bishop  was  inexorable.  He  feared, 
says  his  panegyrist,  that  he  might  one  day  be  on  worse  terms 
than  at  present  with  the  Duchess,  and  that  then  she  might 
reproach  him  with  her  former  benefits.§  He  feared  also  that 
the  King  might,  in  consequence  of  the  step,  not  look  with 
satisfaction  upon  him  at  some  future  period,  when  he  might 
stand  in  need  of  his  favors.  ||  He  wrote,  accordingly,  a  most 
characteristic  letter  to  Philip,  in  which  he  informed  him  that 
he  had  been  honored  with  the  Cardinal's  hat.  He  observed 
that  many  persons  were  already  congratulating  him,  but  that 
before  lie  made  any  demonstration  of  accepting  or  refusing,  he 
waited  for  his  Majesty's  orders  :  upon  his  will  he  wished  ever 
to  depend.  He  also  had  the  coolness,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  express  his  conviction  that  "  it  was  his  Majesty  ivho  had 
secretly  procured  this  favor  from  his  Holiness."^ 

The  King  received  the  information  very  graciously,  observing 
in  reply,  that  although  he  had  never  made  any  suggestion  of 
the  kind,  he  had  "  often  thought  upon  the  subject."0*  The 
royal  command  was  of  course  at  once  transmitted,  that  the 
dignity  should  be  accepted.  By  special  favor,  moreover,  the 
Pope  dispensed  the  new  Cardinal  from  the  duty  of  going  to 


*  Strada,  iii.  93.     Dom  l'Evesque,  i.  258. 

f  Strada.     Dom  l'Evesque,  ubi  sup.  \  Dom  l'Evesque,  i.  258. 

§  Ibid.  |  Ibid.  1  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  296,  297. 

**  Dom  l'Evesque,  i.  256-264.     Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  302,  303. 


282  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

Rome  in  person,  and  despatched  his  chamberlain,  Theophilus 
Friso,  to  Brussels,  with  the  red  hat  and  tabbard.* 

The  prelate,  having  thus  reached  the  dignity  to  which  he 
had  long  aspired,  did  not  grow  more  humble  in  his  deport- 
ment, or  less  zealous  in  the  work  through  which  he  had  already 
gained  so  much  wealth  and  preferment.  His  conduct  with 
regard  to  the  edicts  and  bishoprics  had  already  brought  him 
into  relations  which  were  far  from  amicable  with  his  colleagues 
in  the  council.  More  and  more  he  began  to  take  the  control 
I  of  affairs  into  his  own  hand.  The  consulta,  or  secret  commit- 
jtee  of  the  state  council,  constituted  the  real  government  of 
the  country.  Here  the  most  important  affairs  were  decided 
upon  without  the  concurrence  of  the  other  seignors,  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  Glayon,  who,  at  the  same  time,  were  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  action  of  government.  The  Cardinal  was 
smooth  in  manner,  plausible  of  speech,  generally  even-tem- 
pered, but  he  was  overbearing  and  blandly  insolent.  Accus- 
tomed to  control  royal  personages,  under  the  garb  of  ex- 
treme obsequiousness,  he  began,  in  his  intercourse  with  those 
of  less  exalted  rank,  to  omit  a  portion  of  the  subserviency 
while  claiming  a  still  more  undisguised  authority.  To  nobles 
like  Egmont  and  Orange,  who  looked  down  upon  the  son  of 
Nicolas  Perrenot  and  Nicola  Bonvalot  as  a  person  immeas- 
urably beneath  themselves  in  the  social  hierarchy,  this  conduct 
was  sufficiently  irritating.  The  Cardinal,  placed  as  far  above 
Philip,  and  even  Margaret,  in  mental  power  as  he  was  beneath 
them  in  worldly  station,  found  it  comparatively  easy  to  deal 
with  them  amicably.  With  such  a  man  as  Egmont,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  churchman  to  maintain  friendly  relations. 
The  Count,  who  notwithstanding  his  romantic  appearance,  his 
brilliant  exploits,  and  his  interesting  destiny,  was  but  a 
commonplace  character,  soon  conceived  a  mortal  aversion  to 
Oranvelle.  A  rude  soldier,  entertaining  no  respect  for  science 
or  letters,  ignorant  and  overbearing,  he  was  not  the  man  to 
submit  to  the  airs  of  superiority  which  pierced  daily  more  and 


*  Dom  l'Evesque. 


1561.]  VIOLENCE   OF    EGMONT.  283 

more  decidedly  through  the  conventional  exterior  of  the 
Cardinal.  Granvelle,  on  the  other  hand,  entertained  a  gentle 
contempt  for  Egmont,  which  manifested  itself  in  all  his  private 
letters  to  the  King,  and  was  sufficiently  obvious  in  his  deport- 
ment. There  had  also  been  distinct  causes  of  animosity  between 
them.  The  governorship  of  Hesdin  having  become  vacant, 
Egmont,  backed  by  Orange  and  other  nobles,  had  demanded 
it  for  the  Count  de  Roeulx,  a  gentleman  of  the  Croy  family, 
who,  as  well  as  his  father,  had  rendered  many  important 
services  to  the  crown.*  The  appointment  was,  however, 
bestowed,  through  Granvelle's  influence,  upon  the  Seigneur 
d'Helfault,f  a  gentleman  of  mediocre  station  and  character, 
who  was  thought  to  possess  no  claims  whatever  to  the  office. 
Egmont,  moreover,  desired  the  abbey  of  Trulle  for  a  poor 
relation  of  his  own  ;  but  the  Cardinal,  to  whom  nothing  in 
this  way  ever  came  amiss,  had  already  obtained  the  King's 
permission  to  appropriate  the  abbey  to  himself.*  Egmont 
was  now  furious  against  the  prelate,  and  omitted  no  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  his  aversion,  both  in  his  presence  and 
behind  his  back.  On  one  occasion,  at  least,  his  wrath  exploded 
in  something  more  than  words.  Exasperated  by  Granvelle's 
polished  insolence  in  reply  to  his  own  violent  language,  he 
drew  his  dagger  upon  him  in  the  presence  of  the  Kegent 
herself,  "  and,"  says  a  contemporary,  "  would  certainly  have 
sent  the  Cardinal  into  the  next  world  had  he  not  been  forcibly 
restrained  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  other  persons  present, 
who  warmly  represented  to  him  that  such  griefs  were  to  be 
settled  by  deliberate  advice,  not  by  choler."§  At  the  same 
time,  while  scenes  like  these  were  occurring  in  the  very  bosom 
of  the  state  council,  Granvelle,  in  his  confidential  letters  to 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS.  f  Ibid. 

%  Dom  l'Evesque  Memoirc3,  i.  231. 

§  Pontus  Payen  MS. — Vander  Haer  alludes  to,  but  discredits  a  similar  story, 
according  to  which  Egmont  gave  the  Cardinal,  publicly,  a  box  on  the  ear :  "  ut 
vulgi  sermonibus  diu  fama  valuerit,  quse  Cardinalem  ab  Egmondane  alapa  per- 
cussum  mentiretur." — i.  180,  181.     De  Initiis  Turn.  Belg. 


284  THE    RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

secretary  Perez,  asserted  warmly  that  all  reports  of  a  want  of 
harmony  between  himself  and  the  other  seignors  and  coun- 
cillors were  false,  and  that  the  best  relations  existed  among 
them  all.  It  was  not  his  intention,  before  it  should  be  neces- 
sary, to  let  the  King  doubt  his  ability  to  govern  the  counsel 
according  to  the  secret  commission  with  which  he  had  been 
invested. 

His  relations  with  Orange  were  longer  in  changing  from 
friendship  to  open  hostility.  In  the  Prince  the  Cardinal  met  his 
match.  He  found  himself  confronted  by  an  intellect  as  subtle,  an 
experience  as  fertile  in  expedients,  a  temper  as  even,  and  a  dis- 
position sometimes  as  haughty  as  his  own.  He  never  affected 
to  undervalue  the  mind  of  Orange.  "  'Tis  a  man  of  profound 
genius,  vast  ambition — dangerous,  acute,  politic,"  he  wrote  to 
the  King  at  a  very  early  period.  The  original  relations  between 
himself  and  the  Prince  had  been  very  amicable.  It  hardly 
needed  the  prelate's  great  penetration  to  be  aware  that  the 
friendship  of  so  exalted  a  personage  as  the  youthful  heir  to  the 
principality  of  Orange,  and  to  the  vast  possessions  of  the 
Chalons-Nassau  house  in  Burgundy  and  the  Netherlands, 
would  be  advantageous  to  the  ambitious  son  of  the  Burgundian 
Councillor  Granvelle.  The  young  man  was  the  favorite  of  the 
Emperor  from  boyhood  ;  his  high  rank,  and  his  remarkable 
talents  marked  him  indisputably  for  one  of  the  foremost  men 
of  the  coming  reign.  Therefore  it  was  politic  in  Perrenot  to 
seize  every  opportunity  of  making  himself  useful  to  the  Prince. 
He  busied  himself  with  securing,  so  far  as  it  might  be  neces- 
sary to  secure,  the  succession  of  William  to  his  cousin's  prin- 
cipality. It  seems  somewhat  ludicrous  for  a  merit  to  be  made 
not  only  for  Granvelle  but  for  the  Emperor,  that  the  Prince 
should  have  been  allowed  to  take  an  inheritance  which  the 
will  of  Rene'  de  Nassau  most  unequivocally  conferred,  and 
which  no  living  creature  disputed.*  Yet,  because  some  of  the 
crown  lawyers  had  propounded  the  dogma  that  "  the  son  of  a 
heretic  ought  not  to  succeed,"    it  was  gravely  stated  as   an 


*  Apologie  d'Orange,  15-20. 


1561.]        granvelle's  relations  with  orange.  285 

immense  act  of  clemency  upon  the  part  of  Charles  the  Fifth 
that  he  had  not  confiscated  the  whole  of  the  young  Prince's 
heritage.  In  return  Granvelle's  brother  Jerome  had  obtained 
the  governorship  of  the  youth,  upon  whose  majority  he  had 
received  an  honorable  military  appointment  from  his  attached 
pupil.  The  prelate  had  afterwards  recommended  the  marriage 
with  the  Count  de  Buren's  heiress,  and  had  used  his  influence 
with  the  Emperor  to  overcome  certain  objections  entertained 
by  Charles,  that  the  Prince,  by  this  great  accession  of  wealth, 
might  be  growing  too  powerful.0  On  the  other  hand,  there 
were  always  many  poor  relations  and  dependents  of  Granvelle, 
eager  to  be  benefitted  by  Orange's  patronage,  who  lived  in  the 
Prince's  household,  or  received  handsome  appointments  from 
his  generosity,  f  Thus,  there  had  been  great  intimacy,  founded 
upon  various  benefits  mutually  conferred  ;  for  it  could  hardly 
be  asserted  that  the  debt  of  friendship  was  wholly  upon 
one  side. 

When  Orange  arrived  in  Brussels  from  a  journey,  he  would 
go  to  the  bishop's  before  alighting  at  his  own  house.!  When 
the  churchman  visited  the  Prince,  he  entered  his  bed-chamber 
without  ceremony  before  he  had  risen  ;  for  it  was  William's 
custom,  through  life,  to  receive  intimate  acquaintances,  and 
even  to  attend  to  important  negotiations  of  state,  while  still 
in  bed. 

The  show  of  this  intimacy  had  lasted  longer  than  its  sub- 
stance. Granvelle  was  the  most  politic  of  men,  and  the 
Prince  had  not  served  his  apprenticeship  at  the  court  of 
Charles  the  Fifth  to  lay  himself  bare  prematurely  to  the 
criticism  or  the  animosity  of  the  'Cardinal  with  the  reck- 
lessness of  Horn  and  Egmont.  An  explosion  came  at  last, 
however,  and  very  soon  after  an  exceedingly  amicable  corre- 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS. 

f  vous  eussiez  veu  lors  a  sa  maison  un  Abbe  de   Saverney  frere  dudt. 

Cardinal  le  servir  de  maistre  d'hotel,  un  Bordet  son  cousin,  son  grand  ecuyer 
autre  une  infinite  de  communications  secretes  et  familieres. — Pontus  Payen  MS, 

X  Hoofdt,  L  21,  22. 


286  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

spondence  between  the  two  upon  the  subject  of  an  edict  of 
religious  amnesty  which  Orange  was  preparing  for  his  prin- 
cipality, and  which  Granvelle  had  recommended  him  not  to 
make  too  lenient.*  A  few  weeks  after  this,  the  Antwerp 
magistracy  was  to  be  renewed.  The  Prince,  as  hereditary 
burgrave  of  that  city,  was  entitled  to  a  large  share  of  the 
appointing  power  in  these  political  arrangements,  which  at 
the  moment  were  of  great  importance.  The  citizens  of  Ant- 
werp were  in  a  state  of  excitement  on  the  subject  of  the  new 
bishops.  They  openly,  and  in  the  event,  successfully  resisted 
the  installation  of  the  new  prelate  for  whom  their  city  had 
been  constituted  a  diocese.  The  Prince  was  known  to  be 
opposed  to  the  measure,  and  to  the  whole  system  of  ecclesias- 
tical persecution.  When  the  nominations  for  the  new 
magistracy  came  before  the  Regent,  she  disposed  of  the  whole 
matter  in  the  secret  consulta,  without  the  knowledge,  and  in  a 
manner  opposed  to  the  views  of  Orange.  He  was  then  fur- 
nished with  a  list  of  the  new  magistrates,  and  was  informed 
that  he  had  been  selected  as  commissioner  along  with  Count 
Aremberg,  to  see  that  the  appointments  were  carried  into 
eifect.  The  indignation  of  the  Prince  was  extreme.  He  had 
already  taken  offence  at  some  insolent  expressions  upon  this 
topic,  which  the  Cardinal  had  permitted  himself.  He  now 
sent  back  the  commission  to  the  Duchess,  adding,  it  was  said, 
that  he  was  not  her  lackey,  and  that  she  might  send  some  one 
else  with  her  errands.  The  words  were  repeated  in  the  state 
council.  There  was  a  violent  altercation — Orange  vehemently 
resenting  his  appointment  merely  to  carry  out  decisions  in 
which  he  claimed  an  original  voice.  His  ancestors,  he  said, 
had  often  changed  the  whole  of  the  Antwerp  magistracy  by 
their  own  authority.  It  was  a  little  too  much  that  this 
matter,  as  well  as  every  other  state  affair,  should  be  con- 
trolled by  the  secret  committee  of  which  the  Cardinal  was 
the  chief.  Granvelle,  on  his  side,  was  also  in  a  rage.  He 
flung  from  the  council-chamber,  summoned  the  Chancellor  of 


*  Correspondance  de  Guill.  le  Tacit.,  ii.  15-22. 


1561.]  THE   JULY   LETTER.  287 

Brabant,  and  demanded,  amid  bitter  execrations  against 
Orange,  what  common  and  obscure  gentleman  there  might  be, 
whom  he  could  appoint  to  execute  the  commission  thus  refused 
by  the  Prince  and  by  Aremberg.  He  vowed  that  in  all 
important  matters  he  would,  on  future  occasions,  make  use  of 
nobles  less  inflated  by  pride,  and  more  tractable  than  such 
grand  seignors.  The  chancellor  tried  in  vain  to  appease  the 
churchman's  wrath,  representing  that  the  city  of  Antwerp 
would  be  highly  offended  at  the  turn  things  were  taking,  and 
offering  his  services  to  induce  the  withdrawal,  on  the  part  of 
the  Prince,  of  the  language  which  had  given  so  much  offence. 
The  Cardinal  was  inexorable  and  peremptory.  "  I  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Prince,  Master  Chancellor,"  said  he, 
"  and  these  are  matters  which  concern  you  not."  Thus  the 
conversation  ended,  and  thus  began  the  open  state  of  hostilities 
between  the  great  nobles  and  the  Cardinal,  which  had  been 
brooding  so  long.* 

On  the  23rd  July,  1561,  a  few  weeks  after  the  scenes  lately 
described,  the  Count  of  Egmont  and  the  Prince  of  Orange 
addressed  a  joint  letter  to  the  King.  They  reminded  him  in 
this  despatch  that  they  had  originally  been  reluctant  to  take 
office  in  the  state  council,  on  account  of  their  previous 
experience  of  the  manner  in  which  business  had  been  conducted 
during  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  They  had 
feared  that  important  matters  of  state  might  be  transacted 
without  their  concurrence.  The  King  had,  however,  assured 
them,  when  in  Zeland,  that  all  affairs  would  be  uniformly 
treated  in  full  council.  If  the  contrary  should  ever  prove  the 
case,  he  had  desired  them  to  give  him  information  to  that 
effect,  that  he  might  instantly  apply  the  remedy.  They 
accordingly  now  gave  him  that  information.  They  were 
consulted  upon  small  matters  :  momentous  affairs  were 
decided  upon  in  their  absence.  Still  they  would  not  even 
now  have  complained  had  not  Cardinal  Granvelle  declared 


°  Bakh.  v.  d.  Brink.—"  Het  Huwelijk  van  W.  v.  Oranje,"  etc.,  pp.  47,  48. 


288  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

that  all  the  members  of  the  state  council  were  to  be  held 
responsible  for  its  measures,  whether  they  were  present  at  its 
decisions  or  not.  Not  liking  such  responsibility,  they  requested 
the  King  either  to  accept  their  resignation  or  to  give  orders 
that  all  affairs  should  be  communicated  to  the  whole  board  and 
deliberated  upon  by  all  the  councillors.* 

In  a  private  letter,  written  some  weeks  later  (August  15), 
Egmont  begged  secretary  Erasso  to  assure  the  King  that  then 
joint  letter  had  not  been  dictated  by  passion,  but  by  zeal  for 
his  service.  It  was  impossible,  he  said,  to  imagine  the 
insolence  of  the  Cardinal,  nor  to  form  an  idea  of  the  absolute 
authority  which  he  arrogated.f 

In  truth,  Granvelle,  with  all  his  keenness,  could  not  see  that 
Orange,  Egmont,  Berghen,  Montigny  and  the  rest,  were  no 
longer  pages  and  young  captains  of  cavalry,  while  he  was  the 
politician  and  the  statesman.^  By  six  or  seven  years  the 
senior  of  Egmont,  and  by  sixteen  years  of  Orange,  he  did  not 
divest  himself  of  the  superciliousness  of  superior  wisdom,  not 
unjust  nor  so  irritating  when  they  had  all  been  boys.  In  his 
deportment  towards  them,  and  in  the  whole  tone  of  his  private 
correspondence  with  Philip,  there  was  revealed,  almost  in  spite 
of  himself,  an  affectation  of  authority,  against  which  Egmont 
rebelled  and  which  the  Prince  was  not  the  man  to  acknowledge. 
Philip  answered  the  letter  of  the  two  nobles  in  his  usual 
procrastinating  manner.  The  Count  of  Horn,  who  was  about 
leaving  Spain  (whither  he  had  accompanied  the  King)  for  the 
Netherlands,  would  be  entrusted  with  the  resolution  which  he 
should  think  proper  to  take  upon  the  subject  suggested.  In 
the  mean  time,  he  assured  them  that  he  did  not  doubt  theii 
■  zeal  in  his  service.  § 

As  to  Count  Horn,  Granvelle  had  already  prejudiced  the 
King  against  him.  Horn  and  the  Cardinal  had  never  been 
friends.  A  brother  of  the  prelate  had  been  an  aspirant  for 
the  hand  of  the  Admiral's  sister,  and  had  been  somewhat 


R  Correspondance  de  Phil  II,  i.  195,  196.  t  Ibid- 

X  Bakhuyzen,  44,  45.  §  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II..  i.  191. 


1561.]  ROYAL   WRATH   AGAINST    HORN.  289 

contemptuously  rejected.*  Horn,  a  bold,  vehement,  and  not 
very  good-tempered  personage,  had  long  kept  no  terms  with 
Granvelle,  and  did  not  pretend  a  friendship  which  he  had 
never  felt.  Granvelle  had  just  written  to  instruct  the  King 
that  Horn  was  opposed  bitterly  to  that  measure  which  was 
nearest  the  King's  heart — the  new  bishoprics.  He  had  been 
using  strong  language,  according  to  the  Cardinal,  in  opposition 
to  the  scheme,  while  still  in  Spain.  He  therefore  advised  that 
his  Majesty,  concealing,  of  course,  the  source  of  the  information, 
and  speaking  as  it  were  out  of  the  royal  mind  itself,  should 
expostulate  with  the  Admiral  upon  the  subject.f  Thus 
prompted,  Philip  was  in  no  gracious  humor  when  he  received 
Count  Horn,  then  about  to  leave  Madrid  for  the  Netherlands, 
and  to  take  with  him  the  King's  promised  answer  to  the  com- 
munication of  Orange  and  Egmont.  His  Majesty  had  rarely 
been  known  to  exhibit  so  much  anger  towards  any  person  as 
he  manifested  upon  that  occasion.  After  a  few  words  from 
the  Admiral,  in  which  he  expressed  his  sympathy  with  the 
other  Netherland  nobles,  and  his  aversion  to  Granvelle,  in 
general  terms,  and  in  reply  to  Philip's  interrogatories,  the 
King  fiercely  interrupted  him  :  "  What  !  miserable  man  !" — 
he  vociferated,  "  you  all  complain  of  this  Cardinal,  and  always 
in  vague  language.  Not  one  of  you,  in  spite  of  all  my  ques- 
tions, can  give  me  a  single  reason  for  your  dissatisfaction. "J 
With  this  the  royal  wrath  boiled  over  in  such  unequivocal 
terms  that  the  Admiral  changed  color,  and  was  so  confused 
with  indignation  and  astonishment,  that  he  was  scarcely  able 
to  find  his  way  out  of  the  room.§ 

This  was  the  commencement  of  Granvelle's  long  mortal 
combat  with  Egmont,  Horn,  and  Orange.  This  was  the  first 
answer  which  the   scisTiors  were  to  receive  to  their   remon- 


°  La  deduction  de  rinnocenec  du  Comto  do  Home. 

f  Fapiers  d'Etat,  vi.  332. 

%  "  Quoi  malheureux !  Vous  vous  plaiguez  tous  de  cet  homme,  et  n'y  a 
personne  quoy  que  je  demande  qui  m'en  saiche  dire  la  cause." — Papiers  d'Etat 
viii.  443. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  443. 

VOL.    I.  19 


290  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561 

strances  against  the  churchman's  arrogance.  Fliilip  was  en- 
raged that  any  opposition  should  be  made  to  his  coercive 
measures,  particularly  to  the  new  bishoprics,  the  "  holy  work" 
which  the  Cardinal  was  ready  to  "  consecrate  his  fortune  and 
his  blood"  to  advance.  Granvelle  fed  his  master's  anger  by 
constant  communications  as  to  the  efforts  made  by  dis- 
tinguished individuals  to  delay  the  execution  of  the  scheme. 
Assonville  had  informed  him,  he  wrote,  that  much  complaint 
had  been  made  on  the  subject  by  several  gentlemen,  at  a  supper 
of  Count  Egmont's.  It  was  said  that  the  King  ought  to  have 
consulted  them  all,  and  the  state  councillors  especially.  The 
present  nominees  to  the  new  episcopates  were  good  enough, 
but  it  would  be  found,  they  said,  that  very  improper  per- 
sonages would  be  afterwards  appointed.  The  estates  ought 
not  to  permit  the  execution  of  the  scheme.  In  short,  con- 
tinued Granvelle,  "  there  is  the  same  kind  of  talk  ivhich  brought 
about  the  recal  of  the  Spanish  troops."*  A  few  months  later, 
he  wrote  to  inform  Philip  that  a  petition  against  the  new 
bishoprics  was  about  to  be  drawn  up  by  "  the  two  lords." 
They  had  two  motives,  according  to  the  Cardinal,  for  this  step  : 
first,  to  let  the  King  know  that  he  could  do  nothing  without 
their  permission  ;  secondly,  because  in  the  states'  assembly 
they  were  then  the  cocks  of  the  walk.-\  They  did  not  choose, 
therefore,  that  in  the  clerical  branch  of  the  estates  any  body 
should  be  above  the  abbots,  whom  they  could  frighten  into 
doing  whatever  they  chose.*  At  the  end  of  the  year,  Gran- 
velle again  wrote  to  instruct  his  sovereign  how  to  reply  to  the 
letter  which  was  about  to  be  addressed  to  him  by  the  Prince  of 
Orange  and  the  Marquis  Berghen  on  the  subject  of  the 
bishoprics.  They  would  tell  him,  he  said,  that  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Brabant  abbeys  into  the  new  bishoprics  was  contraiy 


0  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  261. 

\  "  Como  son  los  gallos  de  los  estados." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  307. 

\  "  No  querrian  que  en  el  primer  brajo  que  es  ci  de  los  prelados  huviesse 
quien  entendiesse  7  las  osassc  contradecir,  que  hazen  etc  los  abades  frayles  lo 
que  quieren,  poniendoles  raiedo." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  307. 


1561.]      HAND    OF   ANTONY   BUT    THE   VOICE   OF    PHILIP.         29] 

to  the  constitution  of  the  "joyful  entrance/'  Philip  was, 
however,  to  make  answer  that  he  had  consulted  the  universi- 
ties, and  those  learned  in  the  laws,  and  had  satisfied  himself 
that  it  was  entirely  constitutional.  He  was  therefore  advised 
to  send  his  command  that  the  Prince  and  Marquis  should  use 
all  their  influence  to  promote  the  success  of  the  measure.0 
Thus  fortified,  the  King  was  enabled  not  only  to  deal  with  the 
petition  of  the  nobles,  but  also  with  the  deputies  from  the 
estates  of  Brabant,  who  arrived  about  this  time  at  Madrid, 
To  these  envoys,  who  asked  for  the  appointment  of  royal  com- 
missioners, with  whom  they  might  treat  on  the  subject  of  the 
bishoprics,  the  abbeys,  and  the  "joyful  entrance,"  the  King 
answered  proudly,  "  that  in  matters  which  concerned  the  serv- 
ice of  Grod,  he  was  his  own  commissioner. "f  He  afterwards, 
accordingly,  recited  to  them,  with  great  accuracy,  the  lesson 
which  he  had  privately  received  from  the  ubiquitous  Cardinal. 

Philip  was  determined  that  no  remonstrance  from  great 
nobles  or  from  private  citizens  should  interfere  with  the 
thorough  execution  of  the  grand  scheme  on  which  he  was 
resolved,  and  of  which  the  new  bishoprics  formed  an  important 
part.  Opposition  irritated  him  more  and  more,  till  his  hatred 
of  the  opponents  became  deadly  ;  but  it,  at  the  same  time, 
confirmed  him  in  his  purpose.  "  'Tis  no  time  to  temporize," 
he  wrote  to  Granvelle  ;  "  we  must  inflict  chastisement  with 
full  rigor  and  severity.  These  rascals  can  only  be  made  to  do 
right  through  fear,  and  not  always  even  by  that  means."J 

At  the  same  time,  the  royal  finances  did  not  admit  of  any 
very  active  measures,  at  the  moment,  to  enforce  obedience  to  a 
policy  which  was  already  so  bitterly  opposed.  A  rough  esti- 
mate, made  in  the  King's  own  handwriting,  of  the  resources 
and  obligations  of  his  exchequer,  a  kind  of  balance  sheet  for 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  463,  464. 

f  "  Yo  les  mande  responder  que  por  ser  del  servicio  de  Dios,  lo  queria  yo 
mesmo." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  504. 

\  " en  las  de  la  religion  no  se  fufre  temporizar  sino  castigarlos  con  todo 

rigor  y  serenidad,  que  estos  vellacos  sino  es  por  miedo  no  hazeD  cosa  buena  y  auu 
con  el,  no  todas  vezcs." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  421 


292  THE    RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

the  years  1560  and  1561,  drawn  up  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  that  in  which  a  simple  individual  would  make  a  note  of  his 
income  and  expenditure,  gave  but  a  dismal  picture  of  his 
pecuniary  condition.  It  served  to  show  how  intelligent  a 
financier  is  despotism,  and  how  little  available  are  the  resources 
of  a  mighty  empire  when  regarded  merely  as  private  property, 
particularly  when  the  owner  chances  to  have  the  vanity  of 
attending  to  all  details  himself.  "  Twenty  millions  of  ducats," 
began  the  memorandum,*  "  will  be  required  to  disengage  my 
revenues.  But  of  this,"  added  the  King,  with  whimsical  pathos 
for  an  account-book,  "  we  will  not  speak  at  present,  as  the 
matter  is  so  entirely  impossible."~j"  He  then  proceeded  to  entei 
the  various  items  of  expense  which  were  to  be  met  during  the 
two  years  ;  such  as  so  many  miUions  due  to  the  Fuggers  (the 
Rothschilds  of  the  sixteenth  century),  so  many  to  merchants 
in  Flanders,  Seville,  and  other  places,  so  much  for  Prince 
Doria's  galleys,  so  much  for  three  years'  pay  due  to  his 
guards,  so  much  for  his  household  exjienditure,  so  much  for 
the  tuition  of  Don  Cailos  and  Don  Juan  d' Austria,  so  much 
for  salaries  of  ambassadors  and  councillors — mixing  personal 
and  state  expenses,  petty  items  and  great  loans,  in  one  singu- 
lar jumble,  but  arriving  at  a  total  demand  upon  his  purse  of 
ten  million  nine  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  ducats. 

To  meet  this  expenditure  he  painfully  enumerated  the  funds 
upon  which  he  could  reckon  for  the  two  years.  His  ordinary 
rents  and  taxes  being  all  deeply  pledged,  he  could  only  calcu- 
late from  that  source  upon  two  hundred  thousand  ducats.  The 
Indian  revenue,  so  called,  was  nearly  spent ;  still  it  might 
yield  him  four  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  ducats.  The 
quicksilver  mines  would  produce  something,  but  so  little  as 
hardly  to  require  mentioning.  As  to  the  other  mines,  they 
were  equally  unworthy  of  notice,  being  so  very  uncertain,  and 
not  doing  as  well  as  they  were  wont.     The  licences  accorded  by 


*  The  document  is  in  the  Papiers  d'Etat  de  Granvelle  (vi.  15G-165),  and  is  en- 
titled, "Memorial  de  las  Finan^as  de  Espaiia  en  los  aiios  1560  et  15G1." 

f  1: pero  desto  non  se  tracta  agora  come  de  cosa  tan  impossibile." — Ibid 


1561.]  A   DISMAL   EXCHEQUER.  293 

the  crown  to  carry  slaves  to  America  were  put  down  at  fifty 
thousand  ducats  for  the  two  years.  The  product  of  the 
"crozada"  and  "cuarta,"  or  money  paid  to  him  in  small  sums 
by  individuals,  with  the  permission  of  his  Holiness,  for  the 
liberty  of  abstaining  from  the  Church  fasts,  was  estimated  at 
five  hundred  thousand  ducats.  These  and  a  few  more  meagre 
items  only  sufficed  to  stretch  his  income  to  a  total  of  one  mil- 
lion three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  for  the  two  years, 
against  an  expenditure  calculated  at  near  eleven  millions 
"  Thus,  there  are  nine  millions,  less  three  thousand  ducats, 
deficient,"  he  concluded  ruefully  (and  making  a  mistake  in  his 
figures  in  Ms  own  favor  of  six  hundred  and  sixty-three  thou- 
sand besides),  "  which  I  may  look  for  in  the  sky,  or  try  to  raise 
by  inventions  already  exhausted."  * 

Thus,  the  man  who  owned  all  America  and  half  of  Europe 
could  only  raise  a  million  ducats  a  year  from  his  estates. 
The  possessor  of  all  Peru  and  Mexico  could  reckon  on 
"  nothing  worth  mentioning"  from  his  mines,  and  derived  a 
precarious  income  mainly  from  permissions  granted  his  subjects 
to  carry  on  the  slave-trade  and  to  eat  meat  on  Fridays.  This 
was  certainly  a  gloomy  condition  of  affairs  for  a  monarch  on 
the  threshold  of  a  war  which  was  to  outlast  his  own  life  and 
that  of  his  children  ;  a  war  in  which  the  mere  army  expenses 
were  to  be  half  a  million  florins  monthly,  in  which  about 
seventy  per  cent,  of  the  annual  disbursements  was  to  be  regu- 
larly embezzled  or  appropriated  by  the  hands  through  which 
it  passed,  and  in  which  for  every  four  men  on  paper,  enrolled 
and  paid  for,  only  one,  according  to  the  average,  was  brought 
into  the  field.f 

Granvelle,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  his  master  but  little  con- 
solation from  the  asj)ect  of  financial  affairs  in  the  provinces. 
He  assured  him  that  "  the  government  was  often  in  such  em- 


*  "  Que  se  han  de  tmscar  del  ayre  y  de  invencionea  que  estan  ya  tan  buscadas 
como  alia." — Ibid. 

f  Simon  Styl.  De  Opkomst  en  Bloei  der  Yereenigde  Nederlanden  (Amst, 
.1778)  p.  119. — Compare  Reidani  Belgarum  Aunales  (Lugd.  Bat  1633  ,  lib.  ii 


294  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

barrassment  as  not  to  know  where  to  look  for  ten  ducats."  * 
He  complained  bitterly  that  the  states  would  meddle  with 
the  administration  of  money  matters,  and  were  slow  in  the 
granting  of  subsidies.  The  Cardinal  felt  especially  outraged 
by  the  interference  of  these  bodies  with  the  disbursement  of 
the  sums  which  they  voted.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  states 
had  already  compelled  the  government  to  withdraw  the  troops, 
much  to  the  regret  of  Granvelle.  They  continued,  however,  to 
be  intractable  on  the  subject  of  supplies.  "  These  are  very  vile 
things,"  he  wrote  to  Philip,  "  this  authority  which  they  assume, 
this  audacity  with  which  they  say  whatever  they  think  proper  ; 
and  these  impudent  conditions  which  they  affix  to  every  prop- 
osition for  subsidies."!  The  Cardinal  protested  that  he  had 
in  vain  attempted  to  convince  them  of  their  error,  but  that 
they  remained  perverse. 

It  was  probably  at  this  time  that  the  plan  for  debasing 
the  coin,  suggested  to  Philip  some  time  before  by  a 
skilful  chemist  named  Malen,  and  always  much  approved  of 
both  by  himself  and  Buy  Gomez,  recurred  to  his  mind. 
"  Another  and  an  extraordinary  source  of  revenue,  although 
perhaps  not  a  very  honorable  one,"  wrote  Suriano,  "has 
hitherto  been  kept  secret ;  and  on  account  of  differences  of 
opinion  between  the  King  and  his  confessor,  has  been  discon- 
tinued." This  source  of  revenue,  it  seemed,  was  found  in  "  a 
certain  powder,  of  which  one  ounce  mixed  with  six  ounces  of 
quicksilver  would  make  six  ounces  of  silver."  The  com- 
position was  said  to  stand  the  test  of  the  hammer,  but 
not  of  the  fire.  Partly  in  consequence  of  theological  scruples 
and  partly  on  account  of  opposition  from  the  states,  a 
project  formed  by  the  King  to  pay  his  army  with  this  kind 
of  silver  was  reluctantly  abandoned.  The  invention,  how- 
ever, was  so  very  agreeable   to  the  King,  and   the   inventor 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  180. 

\  " y  es  tambien  muy  ruin  cosa  le  authoridad  que  han  tornado  y  la  osada 

de  dezir  lo  que  se  les  antoja  y  de  proponer  condiciones  tan  desaforadas  a  que  se 
los  va  oponiendo  quanto  se  puede,"  etc.,  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  118-180. 


1561.]  THE    SAXON   MARRIAGE.  295 

had  received  such  liberal  rewards,  that  it  was  supposed,  accord- 
ing to  the  envoy,  that  in  time  of  scarcity  his  Majesty  would 
make  use  of  such  coin  without  reluctance.* 

It  is  necessary,  before  concluding  this  chapter,  which  relates 
the  events  of  the  years  1560  and  1561,  to  allude  to  an  import- 
ant affair  which  occupied  much  attention  during  the  whole  of 
this  period.  This  is  the  celebrated  marriage  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  with  the  Princess  Anna  of  Saxony.  By  many  super- 
ficial writers,  a  moving  cause  of  the  great  Netherland  revolt 
was  found  in  the  connexion  of  the  great  chieftain  with  this  dis- 
tinguished Lutheran  house.  One  must  have  studied  the  char- 
acters and  the  times  to  very  little  purpose,  however,  to  believe 
it  possible  that  much  influence  could  be  exerted  on  the  mind  of 
William  of  Orange  by  such  natures  as  those  of  Anna  of  Saxony, 
or  of  her  uncle  the  Elector  Augustus,  surnamed  "  the  Pious." 

The  Prince  had  become  a  widower  in  1558,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five.  Granvelle,  who  was  said  to  have  been  influential 
in  arranging  his  first  marriage,  now  proposed  to  him,  after  the 
year  of  mourning  had  expired,  an  alliance  with  Mademoiselle 
Rence,f  daughter  of  the  Duchess  de  Lorraine,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Christiern  the  Third  of  Denmark,  and  his  wife 
Isabella,  sister  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth.  Such  a  con- 
nexion, not  only  with  the  royal  house  of  Spain  but  with  that 
of  France — for  the  young  Duke  of  Lorraine,  brother  of  the 
lady,  had  espoused  the  daughter  of  Henry  the  Second — was 


*  " n'e  un  a'tra  straordinaria  laqual  perioche  e  poco  honorevole  ha  pero 

tenuta  secreta — quest  e  una  industria  die  fu  principiata  gia  due  anni  et  piu  con 
titolo  di  zecca  ben  conosciuta  d'alcuni  di  questa  eitta  ma  non  fu  continuata  essendc 
occorsi  certi  dispareri  fra  lui  (Phil°.  2°)  et  il  confessore  per  le  mani  del  quale  passe 
tutto  questa  prattica.  Si  trovi  poi  per  un  Tedesco  Malines  che  le  niesse  in  opera 
et  con  un  encia  di  certa  sua  polvere  et  sei  d'argento  vivo  fa  sei  oncie  d'argento 
che  sta  al  tocco  et  al  martello  ma  non  al  fuoco  et  fa  qualche  opinione  di  valersene 
di  quella  sorte  d'argento  in  pagar  l'essercito  :  ma  li  stati  non  hanno  voluto  con- 
sentirc  perche  con  quest  occasione  tutto  il  buono  oro  si  saria  portato  in  altri  paesi 

ma  quest  inventione  e  molto  grata  al  Re  et  a  Ruy  Gomez,  viene  presentato 

largamente  quello  ch'  1'  ha  rittrovato,  si  puo  credere  ch'  in  tempo  di  qualche 
stretteza,  sua  Ml  *  se  ne  Valeria  senza  rispetto." — Suriano  MS. 

f  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


296  THE    RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561, 

considered  highly  desirable  by  the  Prince.  Philip  and  the 
Duchess  Margaret  of  Parma  both  approved,  or  pretended  to 
approve,  the  match.  At  the  same  time  the  Dowager  Duchess 
of  Lorraine,  mother  of  the  intended  bride,  was  a  candidate, 
and  a  very  urgent  one,  for  the  Kegency  of  the  Netherlands. 
Being  a  woman  of  restless  ambition  and  intriguing  character, 
she  naturally  saw  in  a  man  of  William's  station  and  talents  a 
most  desirable  ally  in  her  present  and  future  schemes.  On  the 
other  hand,  Philip — who  had  made  open  protestation  of  his 
desire  to  connect  the  Prince  thus  closely  with  his  own  blood,'* 
and  had  warmly  recommended  the  match  to  the  young  lady's 
mother — soon  afterwards,while  walking  one  day  with  the  Prince 
in  the  park  at  Brussels,-}"  announced  to  him  that  the  Duchess 
of  Lorraine  had  declined  his  proposals.^  Such  a  result  aston- 
ished the  Prince,  who  was  on  the  best  of  terms  with  the 
mother,  and  had  been  urging  her  appointment  to  the  Regency 
with  all  his  influence,  having  entirely  withdrawn  his  own 
claims  to  that  office.  No  satisfactory  explanation  was  ever 
given  of  this  singular  conclusion  to  a  courtship,  begun  with 
the  apparent  consent  of  all  parties.  It  was  hinted  that  the 
young  lady  did  not  fancy  the  Prince  ;§  but,  as  it  was  not 
known  that  a  word  had  ever  been  exchanged  between  them,  as 
the  Prince,  in  appearance  and  reputation,  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  cavaliers  of  the  age,  and  as  the  approval  of  the  bride 
was  not  usually  a  matter  of  primary  consequence  in  such  mar- 
riages of  state,  the  mystery  seemed  to  require  a  further  solu- 
tion. The  Prince  suspected  Granvelle  and  the  King,  who 
were  believed  to  have  held  mature  and  secret  deliberation  to- 
gether, of  insincerity.     The  Bishop  was  said  to  have  expressed 


*  " que  V.  Mte  m'eust  escript,  par  ses  lettres,  lo  desir  quo  icelle  avoit 

toujours  cu  de  sa  grandeur et  que,  desirant  l'allier  plus  prus  do  son  sang, 

icelle  avoit  instance,  telle  qu'il  scavoit,  pour  procurer  son  manage  avec  la  fille 
ainee  de  M,me  de  Lorraine,  comme  il  se  pouvoit  souvenir." — Letter  of  Margaret 
of  Parma  in  Reiffenberg.     Correspondance  de  Margte  d'Autriche,  p.  271,  272. 
f  Reiffenberg,  p.  273,  274.  \  Ibid- 

§  " mais  comme  l'affaire  trainait  en  longueur  et  comme  aucuns  diseut 

qu'il  n'estoit  a  la  bonne  grace  de  la  demoiselle." — Poutus  Payen  MS. 


1561.]  PREVIOUS    MYSTERIES.  297 

the  opinion,  that  although  the  friendship  he  bore  the  Prince 
would  induce  hirn  to  urge  the  marriage,  yet  his  duty  to  his 
master  made  him  think  it  questionable  whether  it  were  right 
to  advance  a  personage  already  placed  so  high  by  birth,  wealth, 
and  popularity,  still  higher  by  so  near  an  alliance  with  his 
Majesty's  family.0  The  King,  in  consequence,  secretly  in- 
structed the  Duchess  of  Lorraine  to  decline  the  proposal,  while 
at  the  same  time  he  continued  openly  to  advocate  the  connex- 
ion.f  The  Prince  is  said  to  have  discovered  this  double  deal- 
ing, and  to  have  found  in  it  the  only  reasonable  explanation  of 
the  whole  transaction.^  Moreover,  the  Duchess  of  Lorraine, 
finding  herself  equally  duped,  and  her  own  ambitious  scheme 
equally  foiled  by  her  unscrupulous  cousin — who  now,  to  the 
surprise  of  every  one,  appointed  Margaret  of  Parma  to  be 
Regent,  with  the  Bishop  for  her  prime  minister — had  as  little 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  combinations  of  royal  and 
ecclesiastical  intrigue  as  the  Prince  of  Orange  himself.  Soon 
after  this  unsatisfactory  mystification,  William  turned  his  at- 
tentions to  Germany.  Anna  of  Saxony,  daughter  of  the  cele- 
brated Elector  Maurice,  lived  at  the  court  of  her  uncle,  the 
Elector  Augustus.  A  musket-ball,  perhaps  a  traitorous  one, 
in  an  obscure  action  with  Albert  of  Brandenbourg,  had  closed 
the  adventurous  career  of  her  father  seven  years  before.§  The 
young  lady,  wlio  was  thought  to  have  inherited  much  of  his 
restless,  stormy  character,  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  She  was 
far  from  handsome,  was  somewhat  deformed,  and  limped. [|    Her 


*  "  Granvelle  antwoordde,  dat  de  vriendschap  de  by  den  Prinse  droegh,  hem 
dryven  zoude,  om  bet  aan  to  raaden  indien  de  trouw,  die  hy  zynen  meester  schuldigh 
was,  niet  bedenkelyk  voud  een  persoonadje,  ondcrstcunt  von  oovergroote  achbaarheit, 
on  gunst  der  Landtzaaten,  door 't  behuwen  van  zoo  naa  een  bloedt  verwandtscbap 
zyner  Majesteit,  in  top  te  trekken." — Iloofd,  i.  35.  This  was  precisely  the  same  ar- 
gument used  by  the  Emperor  Charles  against  the  marriage  with  Mademoiselle  do 
Buren,  and  successfully  combated  by  Granvelle.  f  Ibid. 

\  Ibid. — Compare  Bakhuyzen  v.  d.  Brink;  Ilet  Iluwelijk  etc.,  8,  9,  10,  to 
whose  publication  on  this  most  intricate  subject  every  candid  historical  student 
must  feel  the  deepest  sense  of  obligation. 

§  Pfeilschmidt,  p.  64.     9-11  July,  1553. 

I   " UDgeschickten    Leibes,    wahrscheinlich    etwas    hinkend." — Bottiger, 

page  87. 


298  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

marriage-portion  was  deemed,  for  the  times,  an  ample  one  ;  she 
had  seventy  thousand  rix  dollars  in  hand,  and  the  reversion  of 
thirty  thousand  on  the  death  of  John  Frederic  the  Second,  who 
had  married  her  mother  after  the  death  of  Maurice.*  Her  rank 
was  accounted  far  higher  in  Germany  than  that  of  William  of 
Nassau,  and  in  this  respect,  rather  than  for  pecuniary  consider- 
ations, the  marriage  seemed  a  desirable  one  for  him.  The  man 
who  held  the  great  Nassau-Chalons  property,  together  with 
the  heritage  of  Count  Maximilian  de  Buren,  could  hardly  have 
been  tempted  by  100,000  thalers.  His  own  provision  for  the 
children  who  might  spring  from  the  proposed  marriage  was  to 
be  a  settlement  of  seventy  thousand  florins  annually. f  The 
fortune  which  permitted  of  such  liberality  was  not  one  to  be 
very  materially  increased  by  a  dowry  which  might  seem  enor- 
mous to  many  of  the  pauper  princes  of  Germany.  "  The  bride's 
portion,"  says  a  contemporary,  "  after  all,  scarcely  paid  for  the 
banquets  and  magnificent  festivals  which  celebrated  the  mar- 
riage. When  the  wedding  was  paid  for,  there  was  not  a  thaler 
remaining  of  the  whole  sum."|  Nothing,  then,  could  be  more 
puerile  than  to  accuse  the  Prince  of  mercenary  motives  in 
seeking  this  alliance  ;  an  accusation,  however,  which  did  not 
fail  to  be  brought. 

There  were  difficulties  on  both  sides  to  be  arranged  before 
this  marriage  could  take  place.  The  bride  was  a  Lutheran,  the 
Prince  was  a  Catholic.  With  regard  to  the  religion  of  Orange 
not  the  slightest  doubt  existed,  nor  was  any  deception  at- 
tempted. G-ranvelle  himself  gave  the  most  entire  attestation 
of  the  Prince's  orthodoxy.  "  This  proposed  marriage  gives  me 
great  pain,"  he  wrote  to  Philip,  "  but  I  have  never  had  reason 
to  suspect  his  principles."§  In  another  letter  he  observed  that 
he  wished  the  marriage  could  be  broken  off ;  but  that  he  hoped 


*  Bottiger,  86.  f  Bottiger,  93. — Compare  Bakhuyzen,  p.  15. 

\  "Ceste  Allemande  qui  ne  luy  avoit  porte  en  mariage  que  cent  a  six  vingt 
mille  daldres,  qui  a  grande  peine  avoit  eu  peu  suffir  pour  payer  les  banquets, 
festins  et  magnificences  de  ces  nopces  payes  lui  estoit  reste  boni  pas  un  dalder 
tant  seulement  du  dot  et  portement  de  sa  femme." — Pontus  Payen  MS. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives  etc.,  i.  52 


1561.]  TWO   PHILIPS   AGAINST    WILLIAM.  299 

so  much  from  the  virtue  of  the  Prince  that  nothing  could 
suffice  to  separate  him  from  the  true  religion.0  On  the 
other  side  there  was  as  little  doubt  as  to  his  creed.  Old 
Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse,  grandfather  of  the  young  lady, 
was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  match.  "  Tis  a  papist,"  said  he, 
"  who  goes  to  mass,  and  eats  no  meat  on  fast  days."f  He 
had  no  great  objection  to  his  character,  but  insurmountable 
ones  to  his  religion.  "  Old  Count  William,"  said  he,  "  was 
an  evangelical  lord  to  his  dying  day.  This  man  is  a  papist."^ 
The  marriage,  then,  was  to  be  a  mixed  marriage.  It  is 
necessary,  however,  to  beware  of  anachronisms  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Lutherans  were  not  yet  formally  denounced  as  heretics. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  exactly  at  this  epoch  that  the  Pope 
was  inviting  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany  to  the  Trent 
Council,  whero  the  schism  was  to  be  closed,  and  all  the  erring 
lambs  to  be  received  again  into  the  bosom  of  the  fold.  So  far 
from  manifesting  an  outward  hostility,  the  papal  demeanor 
was  conciliating.  The  letters  of  invitation  from  the  Pope  to 
the  princes  were  sent  by  a  legate,  each  commencing  with  the 
exordium,  "  To  my  beloved  son,"  and  were  all  sent  back  to 
his  Holiness,  contemptuously,  with  the  coarse  jest  for  answer, 
"  We  believe  our  mothers  to  have  been  honest  women,  and 
hope  that  we  had  better  fathers.  "§  The  great  council  had 
not  yet  given  its  decisions.  Marriages  were  of  continual 
occurrence,  especially  among  princes  and  potentates,  between 
the  adherents  of  Rome  and  of  the  new  religion.  Even  Philip 
had  been  most  anxious  to  marry  the  Protestant  Elizabeth, 
whom,  had  she  been  a  peasant,  he  would  unquestionably  have 
burned,  if  in  his  power.  Throughout  Germany,  also,  especially 
in  high  places,  there  was  a  disposition  to  cover  up  the 
religious  controversy  ;||   to  abstain  from  disturbing  the  ashes 


e  Archives,  etc.,  i.  70. — "To  todavia  espero  de  la bondad y  virtud  del  principe 
que  no  bastara  todo  esto  para  apartarle  de  la  verdadera  religion." 

f  Bakhuyzen,  34. 

X  V.  Rommel,  Philipp  der  Grosmiithige,  iii.  319,  sqq. ;  cited  by  Groen  van 
Prinsterer,  i.  59. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  92.  \  Bakhuyzen,  26-28. 


300  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561 

where  devastation  still  glowed,  and  was  one  day  to  rekindle 
itself.  It  was  exceedingly  difficult  for  any  man,  from  the 
Archduke  Maximilian  down,  to  define  his  creed.  A  marriage, 
therefore,  between  a  man  and  woman  of  discordant  views  upon 
this  topic  was  not  startling,  although  in  general  not  considered 
desirable. 

There  were,  however,  especial  reasons  why  this  alliance 
should  be  distasteful,  both  to  Philip  of  Spain  upon  one  side, 
and  to  the  Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse  on  the  other.  The 
bride  was  the  daughter  of  the  elector  Maurice.  In  that  one 
name  were  concentrated  nearly  all  the  disasters,  disgrace,  and 
disappointment  of  the  Emperor's  reign.  It  was  Maurice  who 
had  hunted  the  Emperor  through  the  Tyrolean  mountains  ;  it 
was  Maurice  who  had  compelled  the  peace  of  Passau ;  it 
was  Maurice  who  had  overthrown  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Germany  ;  it  was  Maurice  who  had  frustrated  Philip's  election 
as  king  of  the  Romans.  If  William  of  Orange  must  seek  a 
wife  among  the  pagans,  could  no  other  bride  be  found  for  him 
than  the  daughter  of  such  a  man  ? 

Anna's  grandfather,  on  the  other  hand,  Landgrave  Philip, 
was  the  celebrated  victim  to  the  force  and  fraud  of  Charles  the 
Fifth.  He  saw  in  the  proposed  bridegroom,  a  youth  who  had 
been  from  childhood,  the  petted  page  and  confidant  of  the 
hated  Emperor,  to  whom  he  owed  his  long  imprisonment.  He 
saw  in  him  too,  the  intimate  friend  and  ally — for  the  brooding 
quarrels  of  the  state  council  were  not  yet  patent  to  the  world — 
of  the  still  more  deeply  detested  Granvelle  ;  the  crafty  priest 
whose  substitution  of  "  einig"  for  "  ewig"  had  inveigled 
him  into  that  terrible  captivity.  These  considerations  alone 
would  have  made  him  unfriendly  to  the  Prince,  even  had  he 
not  been  a  Catholic. 

The  Elector  Augustus,  however,  uncle  and  guardian  to  the 
bride,  was  not  only  well-disposed  but  eager  for  the  marriage, 
and  determined  to  overcome  all  obstacles,  including  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  Landgrave,  without  whose  consent  he  was  long 
pledged  not  to  bestow  the  hand  of  Anna.     For  this  there  were 


1561.]  PIUS   AGUSTUS.  301 

more  than  one  reason.  Augustus,  who,  in  the  words  of 
one  of  the  most  acute  historical  critics  of  our  day,  was 
"  a  Byzantine  Emperor  of  the  lowest  class,  re-appearing 
in  electoral  hat  and  mantle,"0  was  not  firm  in  his  rights  to  the 
dignity  he  held.  He  had  inherited  from  his  brother,  hut  his 
brother  had  dispossessed  John  Frederic.  Maurice,  when 
turning  against  the  Emperor,  who  had  placed  him  in  his 
cousin's  seat,  had  not  thought  it  expedient  to  restore  to  the 
rightful  owner  the  rank  which  he  himself  owed  to  the  violence 
of  Charles.  Those  claims  might  be  revindicated,  and  Augustus 
be  degraded  in  his  turn,  by  a  possible  marriage  of  the  Princess 
Anna,  with  some  turbulent  or  intriguing  German  potentate. 
Out  of  the  land  she  was  less  likely  to  give  trouble.  The 
alliance,  if  not  particularly  desirable  on  the  score  of  rank,  was, 
in  other  worldly  respects,  a  most  brilliant  one  for  his  niece. 
As  for  the  religious  point,  if  he  could  overcome  or  circumvent 
the  scruples  of  the  Landgrave,  he  foresaw  little  difficulty  in 
conquering  his  own  conscience. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  it  is  evident,  was  placed  in  such  a 
position,  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  him  to  satisfy  all  parties. 
He  intended  that  the  marriage,  like  all  marriages  among 
persons  in  high  places  at  that  day,  should  be  upon  the 
"  uti  possidetis"  principle,  which  was  the  foundation  of  the 
religious  peace  of  Germany.  His  wife,  after  marriage  and 
removal  to  the  Netherlands,  would  "  five  Catholically  ;"  she 
would  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  Church  with  her 
husband,  was  to  give  no  offence  to  the  government,  and  bring 
no  suspicion  upon  himself,  by  violating  any  of  the  religious 
decencies.  Further  than  this,  William,  who  at  that  day  wan 
an  easy,  indifferent  Catholic,  averse  to  papal  persecutions,  but 
almost  equally  averse  to  long,  puritanical  prayers  and  faces, 
taking  far  more  pleasure  in  worldly  matters  than  in  ecclesi- 
astical controversies,  was  not  disposed  to  advance  in  this 
thorny  path.     Having  a  stern  bigot  to  deal  with  in  Madrid, 


*  Bakhuyzen,  Het  Huwelijk,  etc.,  p.  14. 


302  THE   EISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561, 

and  another  in  Cassel,  lie  soon  convinced  himself  that  he  was 
not  likely  entirely  to  satisfy  either,  and  thought  it  wiser  sim- 
ply to  satisfy  himself. 

Early  in  1560,  Count  Gunther  de  Schwartzburg,  betrothed 
to  the  Prince's  sister  Catharine,  together  with  Colonel  George 
Von  Holl,  were  despatched  to  Germany  to  open  the  marriage 
negotiations.  They  found  the  Elector  Augustus  already  ripe 
and  anxious  for  the  connexion.  It  was  easy  for  the  envoys  to 
satisfy  all  his  requirements  on  the  religious  question.  If,  as 
the  Elector  afterwards  stated  to  the  Landgrave,  they  really 
promised  that  the  young  lady  should  be  allowed  to  have  an 
evangelical  preacher  in  her  own  apartments,  together  with  the 
befitting  sacraments,0  it  is  very  certain  that  they  travelled  a 
good  way  out  of  their  instructions,  for  such  concessions  were 
steadily  refused  by  Williamf  in  person.  It  is,  however,  more 
probable  that  Augustus,  whose  slippery  feet  were  disposed  to 
slide  smoothly  and  swiftly  over  this  dangerous  ground,  had 
represented  the  Prince's  communications  under  a  favorable 
gloss  of  his  own.  At  any  rate,  nothing  in  the  subsequent  pro- 
ceedings justified  the  conclusions  thus  hastily  formed. 

The  Landgrave  Philip,  from  the  beginning,  manifested  his 
repugnance  to  the  match.  As  soon  as  the  proposition  had 
been  received  by  Augustus,  that  potentate  despatched  Hans 
von  Carlo vvitz  to  the  grandfather  at  Cassel.  The  Prince  of 
Orange,  it  was  represented,  was  young,  handsome,  wealthy, 
a  favorite  of  the  Spanish  monarch  ;  the  Princess  Anna,  on 
the  other  hand,  said  her  uncle  was  not  likely  to  grow 
straighter  or  better  proportioned  in  body,  nor  was  her  crooked 
and  perverse  character  likely  to  improve  with  years.  It  wat 
therefore  desirable  to  find  a  settlement  for  her  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible.:]: The  Elector,  however,  would  decide  upon  nothing 
without  the  Landgrave's  consent. 


°  Groen  v.  Print.  Archives,  etc,  82,  83.  f  Ibid. 

\  "  Hans  von  Karlowitz  sollto  vorstellen  dasz  die  Prinzessin  in  ihrem  Alter 
schwerlich  an  geradem  "Wuchse  und  proportion  des  Leibes  zunchmen  werde, 
dabei  von  einer  seltsamen  Gemuthsart  und  hartem  Sinne  sei,  und  man  daher 
billig  auf  ihre  Ycrsorgung  bedacht  sein  musse." — Bottiger,  93. 


1561.]  AN   OBSTINATE   LANDGRAVE.  303 

To  this  frank,  and  not  very  flattering  statement,  so  far  as 
the  young  lady  was  concerned,  the  Landgrave  answered  stoutly 
and  characteristically.  The  Prince  was  a  Spanish  subject,  he 
said,  and  would  not  be  able  to  protect  Anna  in  her  belief,  who 
would  sooner  or  later  become  a  fugitive  :  he  was  but  a  Count 
in  Germany,  and  no  fitting  match  for  an  Elector's  daughter;* 
moreover,  the  lady  herself  ought  to  be  consulted,  who  had  not 
even  seen  the  Prince.  If  she  were  crooked  in  body,  as  the 
Elector  stated,  it  was  a  shame  to  exrjose  her  ;  to  conceal  it, 
however,  was  questionable,  as  the  Prince  might  complain  after- 
wards that  a  straight  princess  had  been  promised,  and  a  crooked 
one  fraudulently  substituted,!-  and  so  on,  though  a  good  deal 
more  of  such  quaint  casuistry,  in  which  the  Landgrave  was 
accomplished.  The  amount  of  his  answer,  however,  to  the 
marriage  proposal  was  an  unequivocal  negative,  from  which 
he  never  wavered. 

In  consequence  of  this  opposition,  the  negotiations  were  for 
a  time  suspended.  Augustus  implored  the  Prince  not  to 
abandon  the  project,  promising  that  every  effort  should  be  made 
to  gain  over  the  Landgrave,  hinting  that  the  old  man  might 
"go  to  his  long  rest  soon,"  and  even  suggesting  that  if  the 
worst  came  to  the  worst,  he  had  bound  himself  to  do  nothing 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  Landgrave,  but  was  not  obliged 
to  wait  for  his  consent.% 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Prince  had  communicated  to  the 
King  of  Spain  the  fact  of  the  proposed  marriage.  He  had 
also  held  many  long  conversations  with  the  Regent  and  with 
Granvelle.     In  all  these  interviews  he  had  uniformly  used  one 


*  Bottiger,  94 

f  "  Da  nun  ober  der  Kurfiirst  melde,  dasz  sie  einen  ungeschickten  Leib  hatte,  so 
ware  es  schimpflicb,  ihm  solcbes  seben  zu  lassen,  zu  verbergen  aber  um  deswillen 
bedenkbch,  weil  er  alsdann  sagen  diirfte,  dasz  man  ihm  eine  wohlegebildate  Prin- 
zessin  angeruhmt,  eine  ungescbickte  aber  listigerweise  angehangt  hatte,"  etc. — 
Bottiger,  94. 

'I  " dan  im  vortragk  stunde  nichts  anders  dan  ohne  vorwissen,  und  nicht 

ohne  vorwilligung,  derwegen  die  vorwilligung  bei  ihr  Ch.  Gu.  allein  stunde,"  etc, 
— Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  88. 

"  Ce  raisonnement,"  observes  M.  Groen  van  Prinsterer,  very  judiciously,  "a 
l'air  d'un  subterfuge  peu  honorable." — Ibid. 


804  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

language  :  his  future  wife  was  to  "  live  as  a  Catholic/'*  and 
if  that  point  were  not  conceded,  he  would  break  off  the  nego- 
tiations. He  did  not  pretend  that  she  was  to  abjure  her  Prot- 
estant iaith.  The  Duchess,  in  describing  to  Philip  the  con- 
ditions, as  sketched  to  her  by  the  Prince,  stated  expressly  that 
Augustus  of  Saxony  was  to  consent  that  his  niece  "  should 
live  Catholically  after  the  marriage,"f  but  that  it  was  quite 
improbable  that  "  before  the  nuptials  she  would  be  permitted 
to  abjure  her  errors,  and  receive  necessary  absolution,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  the  Church. "t  The  Duchess,  while  stating 
her  full  confidence  in  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Prince,  expressed 
at  the  same  time  her  fears  that  attempts  might  be  made  in 
the  future  by  his  new  connexions  "  to  pervert  him  to  their 
depraved  opinions."§ 

A  silence  of  many  months  ensued  on  the  part  of  the 
sovereign,  during  which  he  was  going  through  the  laborious 
process  of  making  up  his  mind,  or  rather  of  having  it  made  up 
for  him  by  people  a  thousand  miles  off.  In  the  autumn  Gran- 
velle  wrote  to  say  that  the  Prince  was  very  much  surprised  to 
have  been  kept  so  long  waiting  for  a  definite  reply  -to  his  com- 
munications, made  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  concerning  his 
intended  marriage,  and  to  learn  at  last  that  his  Majesty  had 
sent  no  answer,  upon  the  ground  that  the  match  had  been 
broken  off  ;  the  fact  being,  that  the  negotiations  were  proceed- 
ing more  earnestly  than  cver.|| 

Nothing  could  be  more  helpless  and  more  characteristic 
than  the  letter  which  Philip  sent,  thus  pushed  for  a  decision. 
"  You  wrote  me,"  said  he,  "  that  you  had  hopes  that  this 
matter  of  the  Prince's  marriage  would  go  no  further,  and 
seeing  that  you  did  not  write  oftener  on  the  subject,  I  thought 
certainly  that  it  had  been  terminated.  This  pleased  me  not  a 
little,  because  it  was  the  best  thine;  that  could  be  done.    Like- 


*  "  De  sortc  que  le  prince  fust  asseure  d'eulx  qu'elle  vivroit  catholicquement, 
ec  mariant  avec  lui." — Letter  of  Margte  of  Parma.     Reiffenb.  261. 

f  Reiffenberg,  261.  %  Reiff.  264.  §  Reiflf.  265. 

|  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  169,  170. 


1561.]  PUZZLING  PHILIP.  305 

wise/'  continued  the  most  tautological  of  monarchs,  "  I  was 
much  pleased  that  it  should  be  done.  Nevertheless,"  he  added, 
"  if  the  marriage  is  to  be  proceeded  with,  I  really  don't  Jcnoiv 
what  to  say  about  it,  except  to  refer  it  to  my  sister,  inasmuch 
as  a  person  being  upon  the  spot  can  see  better  what  can  be 
done  with  regard  to  it  ;  whether  it  be  possible  to  prevent  it,  or 
whether  it  be  best,  if  there  be  no  remedy,  to  give  permission. 
But  if  there  be  a  remedy,  it  would  be  better  to  take  it,  because," 
concluded  the  King,  pathetically,  "  I  don't  see  how  the  Prince 
could  think  of  marrying  with  the  daughter  of  the  man  who  did 
to  his  majesty,  now  in  glory,  that  which  Duke  Maurice  did."* 
Armed  with  this  luminous  epistle,  which,  if  it  meant  any- 
thing, meant  a  reluctant  affirmation  to  the  demand  of  the 
Prince  for  the  royal  consent,  the  Regent  and  Granvelle  pro- 
ceeded to  summon  William  of  Orange,  and  to  catechise  him 
in  a  manner  most  galling  to  the  pride,  and  with  a  latitude  not 
at  all  justified  by  any  reasonable  interpretation  of  the  royal 
instructions.f  They  even  informed  him  that  his  Majesty  had 
assembled  "  certain  persons  learned  in  cases  of  conscience,  and 
versed  in  theology,"  according  to  whose  advice  a  final  decision, 
not  yet  possible,  would  be  given  at  some  future  period.!  This 
assembly  of  learned  conscience-keepers  and  theologians  had 
no  existence  save  in  the  imaginations  of  Granvelle  and 
Margaret.  The  King's  letter,  blind  and  blundering  as  it  was, 
gave  the  Duchess  the  right  to  decide  in  the  affirmative  on  her 
own  responsibility  ;  yet  fictions  like  these  formed  a  part  of  the 


*  "Vos  me  scrivistes  que  teniades  esperanca  que  no  passaria  adelanto  la 
platica  del  casamiento  del  Principe  d'Orange,  y  con  ver  que  no  se  me  scrivia  maa 
della,  yo  pense  cierto  que  havia  cessado,  de  que  no  holgava  poco  por  que  fuera  lo 
mejor  y  lo  que  yo  holgaria  harto  que  se  hiziesse :  mas  si  todavia  passa  adelanto 
no  se  que  me  dezir  en  ello,  sino  remitirlo  a.  mi  hermana,  pues  como  quien  esta 
sobre  el  negocio,  vera  mejor  lo  que  se  podra  hazer  en  el,  o  si  se  podra  estorvar,  y 
quando  no  huviere  otro  remedio,  dar  la  licencia :  mas  quando  le  huviesse,  seria  lo 
mejor  tomar  le  porque  no  se  como  pueda  parecer  casarse  el  principe  con  hija  del 
que  hize  con  su  majestad,  que  haya  gloria,  lo  que  el  Duque  Mauricio." — Papiers 
d'Etat,  vi.  175,  176. 

f  Bakhuyzen,  41,  42.  %  Ibid. 

vol.  I.  20 


306  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [156L 

"  dissimulation,"  which  was  accounted  profound  statesmanship 
by  the  disciples  of  Macchiavelli.  The  Prince,  however  irri- 
tated, maintained  his  steadiness  ;  assured  the  Regent  that 
the  negotiation  had  advanced  too  far  to  be  abandoned,  and 
repeated  his  assurance  that  the  future  Princess  of  Orange  was 
to  "live  as  a  Catholic." 

In  December,  1560,  William  made  a  visit  to  Dresden, 
where  he  was  received  by  the  Elector  with  great  cordiality. 
This  visit  was  conclusive  as  to  the  marriage.  The  appearance 
and  accomplishments  of  the  distinguished  suitor  made  a 
profound  impression  upon  the  lady.  Her  heart  was  carried  by 
storm.  Finding,  or  fancying  herself  very  desperately  enamored 
of  the  proposed  bridegroom,  she  soon  manifested  as  much 
eagerness  for  the  marriage  as  did  her  uncle,  and  expressed 
herself  frequently  with  the  violence  which  belonged  to  her 
character.  "  What  Grod  had  decreed,"  she  said,  "  the  Devil 
should  not  hinder."* 

The  Prince  was  said  to  have  exhibited  much  diligence  in 
his  attention  to  the  services  of  the  Protestant  Church  during 
his  visit  at  Dresden.f  As  that  visit  lasted,  however,  but  ten 
or  eleven  days,  there  was  no  great  opportunity  for  shewing 
much  zeal.  J 

At  the  same  period  one  William  Knuttel  was  despatched 
by  Orange  on  the  forlorn  hope  of  gaining  the  old  Landgrave's 
consent,  without  making  any  vital  concessions.  "  Will  the 
Prince,"  asked  the  Landgrave,  "  permit  my  granddaughter  to 
have  an  evangelical  preacher  in  the  house  ?"  "  No,"  answered 
Knuttel.  "  May  she  at  least  receive  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  her  own  chamber,  according  to  the  Lutheran 
form  ?"  "  No,"  answered  Knuttel,  "  neither  in  Breda,  nor 
any  where  else  in  the  Netherlands.  If  she  imperatively  requires 
such  sacraments,  she  must  go  over  the  border  for  them,  to  the 
nearest  Protestant  sovereign."§ 


*  "  "Was  Gott  ausersehen  werde  der  Teufel  nicht  wehren." — Bottiger,  101. 
f  Bottiger,  95.  \  Bakhuysen,  62.  §  Bakhuysen,  63. 


1561.]  THE   REJECTED   NOTULE.  307 

Upon  the  14th  April,  1561,  the  Elector,  returning  to  the 
charge,  caused  a  little  note  to  be  drawn  up  on  the  religious 
point,  which  he  forwarded,  in  the  hope  that  the  Prince  would 
copy  and  sign  it.  He  added  a  promise  that  the  memorandum 
should  never  be  made  public  to  the  signer's  disadvantage.* 
At  the  same  time  he  observed  to  Count  Louis,  verbally,  "  that 
he  had  been  satisfied  with  the  declarations  made  by  the  Prince 
when  in  Dresden,  upon  all  points,  except  that  concerning 
religion.  He  therefore  felt  obliged  to  beg  for  a  little  agree- 
ment in  writing.^  "  By  no  means  !  by  no  means  !"  inter- 
rupted Louis  promptly,  at  the  very  first  word,  "  the  Prince 
can  give  your  electoral  highness  no  such  assurance.  'T  would 
be  risking  life,  honor,  and  fortune  to  do  so,  as  your  grace  is 
well  aware.J  The  Elector  protested  that  the  declaration,  if 
signed,  should  never  come  into  the  Spanish  monarch's  hands, 
and  insisted  upon  sending  it  to  the  Prince.§  Louis,  in  a 
letter  to  his  brother,  characterized  the  document  as  "  singular, 
prolix  and  artful,"  and  strongly  advised  the  Prince  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.|| 

This  note,  which  the  Prince  was  thus  requested  to  sign,  and 
which  his  brother  Louis  thus  strenuously  advised  him  not  to 
sign,  the  Prince  never  did  sign.  Its  tenor  was  to  the  following 
effect  : — The  Princess,  after  marriage,  was,  neither  by  menace 
nor  persuasion,  to  be  turned  from  the  true  and  pure  Word  of 
God,  or  the  use  of  the  sacrament  according  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  The  Prince  was  to  allow  her  to 
read  books  written  in  accordance  with  the  Augsburg  Con- 
fession. The  prince  was  to  permit  her,  as  often,  annually,  as 
she  required  it,  to  go  out  of  the  Netherlands  to  some  place 
where  she  could  receive  the  sacrament  according  to  the 
Augsburg  Confession.     In  case  she  were  in  sickness  or  perils 


*  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  98. 

f  "  So  viel  die  piincten  belangt  do  sich  der  Printz  gegen  mich  erkleret  hat 
allhie  zu  Dresen,  bin  ich  mit  im  gar  wol  zu  friden  und  lasz  es  auch  darbey 
bleiben  ausgenomrnen  so  viel  die  religion  belanget,  so  musz  ich  eine  kleine  ver- 
schreibung  von  im  haben." — Archives,  etc.,  i.  100.     Letter  of  Louis  de  Nassau. 

X  Archives  et  Correspondance,  L  100,  101.  §  Ibid.  \  Ibid. 


308  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

of  childbirth,  the  Prince,  if  necessary,  would  call  to  her  an 
evangelical  preacher,  who  might  administer  to  her  the  holy 
sacrament  in  her  chamber.  The  children  who  might  spring 
from  the  marriage  were  to  be  instructed  as  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  Augsburg  Confession."* 

Even  if  executed,  this  celebrated  memorandum  would  hardly 
have  been  at  variance  with  the  declarations  made  by  the 
Prince  to  the  Spanish  government.  He  had  never  pretended 
that  his  bride  was  to  become  a  Catholic,  but  only  to  live  as  a 
Catholic.  All  that  he  had  promised,  or  was  expected  to  promise^ 
was  that  his  wife  should  conform  to  the  law  in  the  Netherlands. 
The  paper,  in  a  general  way,  recognized  that  law.  In  case  of  ab- 
solute necessity,  however,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  Princess 
should  have  the  advantage  of  private  sacraments.  This  certainly 
would  have  been  a  mortal  offence  in  a  Calvinist  or  Anabaptist, 
but  for  Lutherans  the  practise  had  never  been  so  strict.  More- 
over, the  Prince  already  repudiated  the  doctrines  of  the  edicts, 
and  rebelled  against  the  command  to  administer  them  within  his 
government.  A  general  promise,  therefore,  made  by  him  pri- 
vately, in  the  sense  of  the  memorandum  drawn  up  by  the  Elector, 
would  have  been  neither  hypocritical  nor  deceitful,  but  worthy 
the  man  who  looked  over  such  grovelling  heads  as  Granvelle 
and  Philip  on  the  one  side,  or  Augustus  of  Saxony  on  the 
other,  and  estimated  their  religious  pretences  at  exactly  what 
they  were  worth.  A  formal  document,  however,  technically 
according  all  these  demands  made  by  the  Elector,  would 
certainly  be  regarded  by  the  Spanish  government  as  a  very  cul- 
pable instrument.    The  Prince  never  signed  the  note,f  but,  as 


*  The  note  has  been  often  published:  V.  e.  g.  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives  et 
Correspondance,  i.  102,  103.     Bakhuyzen,  Het  Huwelijk,  etc.,  15,  76. 

f  This  has  always  been  a  disputed  question.  The  opinion  more  generally 
entertained,  particularly  by  the  enemies  of  "William,  is  that  he  did  sign  it.  M. 
Bakhuyzen  (82,  sqq.),  almost  alone,  maintains  the  contrary,  against  many  dis- 
tinguished publicists ;  and,  after  a  strong  chain  of  circumstantial  evidence  to 
make  his  position  as  firm  as  a  negative  usually  can  be  made,  arrives  at  the  con- 
clusion that  a  signed  and  sealed  document  to  that  effect  never  will  be  found 
(p.  86).    I  am  fortunately  able  to  attest  the  accuracy  of  his  &  priwi  argument, 


1561.]  FLIPPANCY   AGAINST   HYPOCRISY.  300 

we  shall  have  occasion  to  state  in  its  proper  place,  he  gave  a 
verbal  declaration,  favorable  to  its  tenor,  but  in  very  vague  and 
brief  terms,  before  a  notary,  on  the  day  of  the  marriage. 

If  the  reader  be  of  opinion  that  too  much  time  has  been 
expended  upon  the  elucidation  of  this  point,  he  should 
remember  that  the  character  of  a  great  and  good  man  is  too 
precious  a  possession  of  history  to  be  lightly  abandoned.  It 
is  of  no  great  consequence  to  ascertain  the  precise  creed  of 
Augustus  of  Saxony,  or  of  his  niece  ;  it  is  of  comparatively 
little  moment  to  fix  the  point  at  which  William  of  Orange 
ceased  to  be  an  honest,  but  liberal  Catholic,  and  opened  his  heart 
to  the  light  of  the  Keformation  ;  but  it  is  of  very  grave  interest 
that  his  name  should  be  cleared  of  the  charge  of  deliberate  fraud 
and  hypocrisy.  It  has  therefore  been  thought  necessary  to 
prove  conclusively  that  the  Prince  never  gave,  in  Dresden  or 
Cassel,  any  assurance  inconsistent  with  his  assertions  to  King 
and  Cardinal.  The  whole  tone  of  his  language  and  demeanor 
on  the  religious  subject  was  exhibited  in  his  reply  to  the 
Electress,  who,  immediately  after  the  marriage,  entreated 
that  he  would  not  pervert  her  niece  from  the  paths  of  the 
true  religion.  "  She  shall  not  be  troubled,"  said  the  Prince, 
"  with  such  melancholy  things.  Instead  of  holy  writ  she 
shall  read  '  Amadis  cle  Gaule/  and  such  books  of  pastime 
which  discourse  de  amore  ;  and  instead  of  knitting  and 
sewing  she  shall  learn  to  dance  a  galliarde,  and  such 
courtoisies  as  are  the  mode  of  our  country  and  suitable  to 
her  rank."* 

and  to  prove  the  negative  by  positive  and  indisputable  evidence.  I  subjoin  in 
the  appendix  to  this  volume  the  text  of  the  notarial  instrument  by  which,  on 
the  24th  of  August,  1561,  between  four  and  five  p.m.,  just  before  the  marriage 
ceremony,  the  Elector  testified  that  the  Prince  never  would  and  never  did  con- 
sent to  make  such  an  holographic,  signed  and  sealed  instrument  as  the  one  in 
question.  "Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  formed  as  to  the  general  nature  of 
the  transaction,  no  one  henceforth  can  pretend  that  the  Prince  of  Orange 
executed  the  document  in  the  manner  in  which  he  was  requested  to  execute  it. — 
Y.  Postea,  pages  314,  315. 

*  Extracts  from  this  letter  (of  Landgrave  William,  son  of  Philip),  have  been 
published   by  Bottiger    and  others.     I   quote  from   the  original  in   the   Royal 


810  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561, 

The  reply  was  careless,  flippant,  almost  contemptuous.  It 
is  very  certain  that  William  of  Orange  was  not  yet  the 
"  father  William"  he  was  destined  to  become — grave,  self- 
sacrificing,  deeply  religious,  heroic  ;  but  it  was  equally  evident 
from  this  language  that  he  had  small  sympathy,  either  in 
public  or  private,  with  Lutheranism  or  theological  controversy. 
Landgrave  William  was  not  far  from  right  when  he  added,  in 
his  quaint  style,  after  recalling  this  well-known  reply,  "  Your 
grace  will  observe,  therefore,  that  when  the  abbot  has  dice  in 
his  pocket,  the  convent  will  play."* 

So  great  was  the  excitement  at  the  little  court  of  Cassel, 
that  many  Protestant  princes  and  nobles  declared  that  "  they 
would  sooner  give  their  daughters  to  a  boor  or  a  swineherd 
than  to  a  Papist."f  The  Landgrave  was  equally  vigorous  in 
his  protest,  drawn  up  in  due  form  on  the  26th  April,  1561. 
He  was  not  used,  he  said,  "  to  flatter  or  to  tickle  with  a  fox- 
tail.";!; He  was  sorry  if  his  language  gave  offense,  neverthe- 
less "  the  marriage  was  odious,  and  that  was  enough."§  He 
had  no  especial  objection  to  the  Prince,  "who  before  the 
world  was  a  brave  and  honorable  man."  He  conceded  that 
his  estates  were  large,  although  he  hinted  that  his  debts  also 
were  ample  ;  allowed  that  he  lived  in  magnificent  style,  had 
even  heard  "  of  one  of  his  banquets,  where  all  the  table-cloths, 
plates,    and   every   thing   else,    were    made    of  sugar," ||  but 


Archives  at  Dresden,  partly  in  the  handwriting  of  the  Landgrave.  "  Was  er  nun 
daraur?  E.  L.  Gemahlin  geantwortett  das  ist  beydenn  E.  L.  bewusst,  nemblich. 
das  er  sie  mit  den  roelancolisehen  Dingen  nicht  bemuhen  wollte,  sondern  dos  sie  ann 
statt  der  heyligen  schrift  Amadis  de  Gaule  und  dergleichen  Kurzweilige  Bticher, 
die  de  Amore  tractirten  lesenn,  und  an  statt  strickens  undt  nahenns  ein  Galliarde 
tantzenn  lernen  solte  und  dergleichen  curtoisie,  wie  solche  etwa  der  Landt 
preuchlich  undt  wol  stendig." 

*  M.S.  Dresden  Archives. — "Nunn  haben  E.  L.  zuerachten,  wann  der  Aptt 
werffel  tregtt,  das  dem  convent  das  spielenn  erleubtt."  The  Landgrave  was  al- 
ways as  full  of  homely  proverbs  as  Sancho  Panza. 

f  V.  Rommel  in  Bottiger,  102. 

t  ""Wir  nit  gewondt  sein  zue  fuchsschwentzen  oder  zue  schmeicheln.'' — 
Bottiger,  104. 

§  "Es  ist  aber  Odiosum,  darumb  wollen  wirs  dissmals  bleiben  lassen."— 
Ibid.  I  Ibid- 


1561.]  WEDDING   GUESTS.  311 

thought  he  might  be  even  a  little  too  extravagant ;  con- 
cluding, after  a  good  deal  of  skimble-skamble  of  this  nature, 
with  "protesting  before  God,  the  world,  and  all  pious 
Christians,  that  he  was  not  responsible  for  the  marriage, 
but  only  the  Elector  Augustus  and  others,  who  therefore 
would  one  day  have  to  render  account  thereof  to  the 
Lord."* 

Meantime  the  wedding  had  been  fixed  to  take  place  on 
Sunday,  the  24th  August,  1561.  This  was  St.  Bartholomew's, 
a  nuptial  day  which  was  not  destined  to  be  a  happy  one  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  Landgrave  and  his  family  declined  to 
be  present  at  the  wedding,  but  a  large  and  brilliant  company 
were  invited.  The  King  of  Spain  sent  a  bill  of  exchange  to 
the  Regent,  that  she  might  purchase  a  ring  worth  three 
thousand  crowns,  as  a  present  on  his  part  to  the  bride.f  Be- 
side this  liberal  evidence  that  his  opposition  to  the  marriage 
was  withdrawn,  he  authorized  his  sister  to  appoint  envoys 
from  among  the  most  distinguished  nobles  to  represent  him  on 
the  occasion.  The  Baron  de  Montigny,  accordingly,  with  a 
brilliant  company  of  gentlemen,  was  deputed  by  the  Duchess, 
although  she  declined  sending  all  the  governors  of  the  prov- 
inces, according  to  the  request  of  the  Prince.^  The  marriage 
was  to  take  place  at  Leipsic.  A  slight  picture  of  the  wedding 
festivities,  derived  entirely  from  unpublished  sources,  may  give 
some  insight  into  the  manners  and  customs  of  high  life  in 
Germany  and  the  Netherlands  at  this  epoch.§ 

The  Kings  of  Spain  and  Denmark  were  invited,  and  were 
represented  by  special  ambassadors.  The  Dukes  of  Brunswick, 
Lauenburg,  Mecklenburg,  the  Elector  and  Margraves  of 
Brandenburg,  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  the  Duke  of  Cleves, 


*  BOttiger,  106. 

X  Correspondance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche,  184.  \  Ibid,  288. 

§  There  are  many  papers  and  documents  in  the  Royal  Archives  of  Dresden 
relating  to  this  celebrated  marriage.  The  collection  which  I  have  principally 
consulted  for  the  following  account  is  entitled,  "Acta  des  Printzen  tzu  TJra- 
nieun  und  Frawlein  Annen  tzu  Saxen  Beylager,  1561."  It  is  entirely  unpub- 
lished. 


312  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

the  Bishops  of  Naumburg,  Meneburg,  Meissen,  with  many- 
other  potentates,  accepted  the  invitations,  and  came  generally 
in  person,  a  feAV  only  being  represented  by  envoys.  The  town 
councils  of  Erfurt,  Leipsic,  Magdeburg,  and  other  cities,  were 
also  bidden.  The  bridegroom  was  personally  accompanied  by 
his  brothers  John,  Adolphus,  and  Louis  ;  by  the  Burens,  the 
Leuchtenbergs,  and  various  other  distinguished  personages. 

As  the  electoral  residence  at  Leipsic  was  not  completely 
finished,  separate  dwellings  were  arranged  for  each  of  the 
sovereign  families  invited,  in  private  houses,  mostly  on  the 
market-place.  Here  they  were  to  be  furnished  with  provi- 
sions by  the  Elector's  officials,  but  they  were  to  cook  for 
themselves.  For  this  purpose  all  the  princes  had  been 
requested  to  bring  their  own  cooks  and  butlers,  together  with 
their  plate  and  kitchen  utensils.  The  sovereigns  themselves 
were  to  dine  daily  with  the  Elector  at  the  town-house,  but  the 
attendants  and  suite  were  to  take  their  meals  in  their  own 
lodgings.  A  brilliant  collection  of  gentlemen  and  pages, 
appointed  by  the  Elector  to  wait  at  his  table,  were  ordered  to 
assemble  at  Leipsic  on  the  22d,  the  guests  having  been  all 
invited  for  the  23d.  Many  regulations  were  given  to  these 
noble  youths,  that  they  might  discharge  their  duties  with 
befitting  decorum.  Among  other  orders,  they  received  par- 
ticular injunctions  that  they  were  to  abstain  from  all  drinking 
among  themselves,  and  from  all  riotous  conduct  whatever, 
while  the  sovereigns  and  potentates  should  be  at  dinner.  "  It 
would  be  a  shameful  indecency,"  it  was  urged,  "  if  the  great 
people  sitting  at  table  should  be  unable  to  hear  themselves 
talk  on  account  of  the  screaming  of  the  attendants."  *  This 
provision  did  not  seem  unreasonable.  They  were  also  in- 
structed  that  if  invited   to    drink   by  any  personage  at  the 


*  "Dasz  dieselben  in  dem  Essgemache  auf  dern  Rathhause  des  Zutrinkens  utid 
alien  Geschrei  wahrend  der  ordentlichen  Mahlzeiten  sicb  enthalten  sollten,  indem 
dies  nicht  allein  TJnordnung  und  Mangel  in  der  Aufwartung  verursache,  sondern 
auch  es  ein  schimpflicher  Uibelstand  sei,  wenn  die  fremden  Herrschaften  an  der 
Tafel  vor  dem  Geschrei  der  Umstehenden  ihr  eignes  wort  nicht  horen  konnten," 
etc. — MS.  Dresden  Archives,  ubi  sup. 


1561.]  LEIPSIC   IN   COMMOTION".  313 

great  tables  they  were  respectfully  to  decline  the  challenge,  and 
to  explain  the  cause  after  the  repast. 

Particular  arrangements  were  also  made  for  the  safety  of 
the  city.  Besides  the  regular  guard  of  Leipsic,  two  hundred 
and  twenty  arquebuseers,  spearsmen,  and  halberdmen,  were 
ordered  from  the  neighboring  towns.  These  were  to  be  all 
dressed  in  uniform  ;  one  arm,  side  and  leg  in  black,  and  the 
other  in  yellow,  according  to  a  painting  distributed  before- 
hand to  the  various  authorities.  As  a  mounted  patrole, 
Leipsic  had  a  regular  force  of  two  men.  These  were  now 
increased  to  ten,  and  received  orders  to  ride  with  their  lanterns 
up  and  down  all  the  streets  and  lanes,  to  accost  all  persons 
whom  they  might  find  abroad  without  lights  in  their  hands,  to 
ask  them  their  business  in  courteous  language,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  see  generally  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  town.* 
Fifty  arquebuseers  were  appointed  to  protect  the  town-house, 
and  a  burgher  watch  of  six  hundred  was  distributed  in  differ- 
ent quarters,  especially  to  guard  against  fire. 

On  Saturday,  the  day  before  the  wedding,  the  guests  had  all 
arrived  at  Leipsic,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  with  his  friends, 
at  Meneburg.  On  Sunday,  the  24th  August,  the  Elector  at 
the  head  of  his  guests  and  attendants,  in  splendid  array,  rode 
forth  to  receive  the  bridegroom.  His  cavalcade  numbered  four 
thousand.  William  of  Orange  had  arrived,  accompanied  by 
one  thousand  mounted  men.  The  whole  troop  now  entered 
the  city  together,  escorting  the  Prince  to  the  town-house. 
Here  he  dismounted,  and  was  received  on  the  staircase  by  the 
Princess  Anna,  attended  by  her  ladies.  She  immediately  after- 
wards withdrew  to  her  apartments. 

It  was  at  tins  point,  between  4  and  5  p.  m.,  that  the  Elector 


*  "  Ais  Reuterwache  hatte  der  Rath  zu  Leipzig  zwei  Mann,  diese  wurden  bis 
auf  zehen  mann  gebracht,  um  rait  ihren  Leuchten  die  eine  Gasse  auf  die  andere 
ab  zu  reiten  und  die  sick  auf  den  Gassen  ohne  Licht  treffen  lassen  mit  glimp- 
flichen  Worten  zu  Rede  zu  siellen,  dabei  auch  auf  das  Feuer  gute  Acht  zu  liaben." 
—MS.,  Ibid. 

The  regulations  have  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  Dogberry's  instructions  for 
his  watch. 


314  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

and  Electress,  with  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  accompanied  also 
by  the  Dame  Sophia  von  Miltitz  and  the  Councillors  Hans  von 
Ponika  and  Ubrich  Woltersdorff  upon  one  side,  and  by  Count 
John  of  Nassau  and  Heinrich  von  Wiltberg  upon  the  other,  as 
witnesses,  appeared  before  Wolf  Seidel,  notary,  in  a  corner 
room  of  the  upper  story  of  the  town-house.  One  of  the  coun- 
cillors, on  the  part  of  the  Elector,  then  addressed  the  bride- 
groom. He  observed  that  his  highness  would  remember,  no 
doubt,  the  contents  of  a  memorandum  or  billet,  sent  by  the 
Elector  on  the  14th  April  of  that  year,  by  the  terms  of  which 
the  Prince  was  to  agree  that  he  would,  neither  by  threat  nor 
persuasion,  prevent  his  future  wife  from  continuing  in  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  ;  that  he  would  allow  her  to  go  to  places  where 
she  might  receive  the  Augsburg  sacraments  ;  that  in  case  of 
extreme  need  she  should  receive  them  in  her  chamber  ;  and 
that  the  children  who  might  spring  from  the  marriage  should 
be  instructed  as  to  the  Augsburg  doctrines.  As,  however, 
continued  the  councillor,  his  highness  the  Prince  of  Orange  has, 
for  various  reasons,  declined  giving  any  such  agreement  in  writ- 
ing, as  therefore  it  had  been  arranged  that  before  the  marriage 
ceremony  the  Prince  should,  in  the  presence  of  the  bride  and 
of  the  other  witnesses,  make  a  verbal  promise  on  the  subject, 
and  as  the  parties  were  now  to  be  immediately  united  in  mar- 
riage, therefore  the  Elector  had  no  doubt  that  the  Prince  would 
make  no  objection  in  presence  of  those  witnesses  to  give  his 
consent  to  maintain  the  agreements  comprised  in  the  memo- 
randum or  note.  The  note  was  then  read.  Thereupon,  the 
Prince  answered  verbally.  "  Gracious  Elector  ;  I  remember 
the  writing  which  you  sent  me  on  the  14th  April.  All  the  points 
just  narrated  by  the  Doctor  were  contained  in  it.  I  now  state 
to  your  highness  that  I  will  keep  it  all  as  becomes  a  prince, 
and  conform  to  it."  Thereupon  he  gave  the  Elector  his  hand.* 
What  now  was  the  amount  and  meaning  of  this  promise  on 


*  "Gnediger  ckurfurst,  ieh  kann  raich  des  schreibens  das  mir,  e.  g.,  dieser 
sacken  kalben  under  obeberaeltem  dato  gaben  freundtlick  und  wol  erinnern,  das 
alle  die   punct  so  der  ker  Doctor  itzunt  erzelt  dorinne  begriffen,  und  tku,  e.  g., 


1561.]  THE   NOTARIAL   INSTRUMENT.  315 

the  part  of  the  Prince  ?  Almost  nothing.  He  would  conform 
to  the  demands  of  the  Elector,  exactly  as  he  had  hitherto  said 
he  would  conform  to  them.  Taken  in  connexion  with  his 
steady  objections  to  sign  and  seal  any  instrument  on  the 
subject — with  his  distinct  refusal  to  the  Landgrave  (through 
Knuttel)  to  allow  the  Princess  an  evangelical  preacher  or  to 
receive  the  sacraments  in  the  Netherlands — with  the  vehement, 
formal,  and  public  protest,  on  the  part  of  the  Landgrave, 
ao-ainst  the  marriage — with  the  Prince's  declarations  to  the 
Elector  at  Dresden,  which  were  satisfactory  on  all  points  save 
the  religious  point,— what  meaning  could  this  verbal  promise 
have,  save  that  the  Prince  would  do  exactly  as  much  with 
regard  to  the  religious  question  as  he  had  always  promised, 
and  no  more  ?  This  was  precisely  what  did  happen.  There 
was  no  pretence  on  the  part  of  the  Elector,  afterwards,  that 
any  other  arrangement  had  been  contemplated.  The  Princess 
lived  catholically  from  the  moment  of  her  marriage,  exactly  as 
Orange  had  stated  to  the  Duchess  Margaret,  and  as  the 
Elector  knew  would  be  the  case.  The  first  and  the  following 
children  born  of  the  marriage  were  baptized  by  Catholic 
priests,  with  very  elaborate  Catholic  ceremonies,  and  this  with 
the  full  consent  of  the  Elector,  who  sent  deputies  and  officiated 
as  sponsor  on  one  remarkable  occasion. 

Who,  of  all  those  guileless  lambs  then,  Philip  of  Spain,  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  or  Cardinal  Granvelle,  had  been  deceived 
by  the  language  or  actions  of  the  Prince  ?  Not  one.  It  may 
be  boldly  asserted  that  the  Prince,  placed  in  a  transition  epoch, 
both  of  the  age  and  of  his  own  character,  surrounded  by  the 
most  artful  and  intriguing  personages  known  to  history,  and 
involved  in  a  network  of  most  intricate  and  difficult  circum- 
stances, acquitted  himself  in  a  manner  as  honorable  as  it  was 
prudent.  It  is  difficult  to  regard  the  notarial  instrument  other- 
wise than  as  a  memorandum,  filed  rather  by  Augustus  than  by 
wise  William,  in  order  to  put  upon  record  for  his  own  justifica- 


hierait  zue  sagenn  das  ich  solchs  alles  furstlich  wil  halden  und  dem  nach  kom- 
men,  und  bat  solcks  hierauf  S.  Ch.  G.  mit  band  gebenden  treu  bewilbgtt  und 
zugesagt." 


316  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

tion,  his  repeated  though  unsuccessful  efforts  to  procure  from 
the  Prince  a  regularly  signed,  sealed,  and  holographic  act,  upon 
the  points  stated  in  the  famous  note. 

After  the  delay  occasioned  by  these  private  formalities,  the 
bridal  procession,  headed  by  the  court  musicians,  followed  by 
the  court  marshals,  councillors,  great  officers  of  state,  and 
the  electoral  family,  entered  the  grand  hall  of  the  town-house. 
The  nuptial  ceremony  was  then  performed  by  "  the  Superin- 
tendent Doctor  Pfefhnger."  Immediately  afterwards,  and  in 
the  same  hall,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  were  placed  publicly 
upon  a  splendid,  gilded  bed,  with  gold-embroidered  curtains, 
the  Princess  being  conducted  thither  by  the  Elector  and 
Electress.  Confects  and  spiced  drinks  were  then  served  to 
them  and  to  the  assembled  company.  After  this  ceremony 
they  were  conducted  to  their  separate  chambers,  to  dress  for 
dinner.  Before  they  left  the  hall,  however,  Margrave  Hans 
of  Brandenburg,  on  part  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  solemnly 
recommended  the  bride  to  her  husband,  exhorting  him  to 
cherish  her  with  faith  and  affection,  and  "  to  leave  her  undis- 
turbed in  the  recognized  truth  of  the  holy  gospel  and  the  right 
use  of  the  sacraments."* 

Five  round  tables  were  laid  in  the  same  hall  immediately 
afterwards — each  accommodating  ten  guests.  As  soon  as  the 
first  course  of  twenty-five  dishes  had  been  put  upon  the  chief 
table,  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  the  Elector  and  Electress,  the 
Spanish  and  Danish  envoys  and  others,  were  escorted  to  it,  and 
the  banquet  began.  During  the  repast,  the  Elector's  choir 
and  all  the  other  bands  discoursed  the  "  merriest  and  most 
ingenious  music."  The  noble  vassals  handed  the  water,  the 
napkins,  and  the  wine,  and  every  thing  was  conducted  deco- 
rously and  appropriately.  As  soon  as  the  dinner  was  brought 
to  a  close,  the  tables  were  cleared  away,  and  the  ball  began  in 


*  "  — —  sie  bei  der  erkannten  Wahrheit  des  heiligen  Evangelii  und  dem  rech- 
ten  Branch  und  Genuss  der  hochwiirdigen  Sacramente  unvehinderlich  bleiben 
lassen  wolle." — MS.  Dresden  Archives.  Acta  des  P.  z.  Oranien  et  Frawlein  An- 
nen  tzu  Saxen  Beylager,  1561. 


1561.]  MARRIAGE   AND   BENEDICTION.  317 

the  same  apartment.  Dances,  previously  arranged,  were  per- 
formed, after  which  "  confects  and  drinks"  were  again  distrib- 
uted, and  the  bridal  pair  were  then  conducted  to  the  nuptial 
chamber. 

The  wedding,  according  to  the  Lutheran  custom  of  the 
epoch,  had  thus  taken  place  not  in  a  church,*  but  in  a  private 
dwelling  ;  the  hall  of  the  town-house,  representing,  on  this 
occasion,  the  Elector's  own  saloons.  On  the  following  morning, 
however,  a  procession  was  formed  at  seven  o'clock  to  conduct 
the  newly-married  couple  to  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas,  there 
to  receive  an  additional  exhortation  and  benediction.f  Two 
separate  companies  of  gentlemen,  attended  by  a  great  number 
of  "  fifers,  drummers,  and  trumpeters,"  escorted  the  bride  and 
the  bridegroom,  "  twelve  counts,  wearing  each  a  scarf  of  the 
Princess  Anna's  colors,  with  golden  garlands  on  their  heads 
and  lighted  torches  in  their  hands,"  preceding  her  to  the 
choir,  where  seats  had  been  provided  for  the  more  illustrious 
portion  of  the  company.  The  church  had  been  magnificently 
decked  in  tapestry,  and,  as  the  company  entered,  a  full  orches- 
tra performed  several  fine  motettos.  After  listening  to  a  long- 
address  from  Dr.  Pfeffinger,  and  receiving  a  blessing  before 
the  altar,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange  returned,  with 
their  attendant  processions,  to  the  town-house. 

After  dinner,  upon  the  same  and  the  three  following  days, 
a  tournament  was  held.  The  lists  were  on  the  market-place, 
on  the  side  nearest  the  town-house  ;  the  Electress  and  the 
other  ladies  looking  down  from  balcony  and  window  to  "  rain 
influence  and  adjudge  the  prize."  The  chief  hero  of  these 
jousts,  according  to  the  accounts  in  the  Archives,  was  the 


*  MS.  Dresden  Archives,  ubi  supra. 

f  Bottiger,  in  his  instructive  and  able  work,  has  fallen  into  an  error  upon 
this  point  in  stating  that  the  marriage  (Traung)  took  place  in  tho  Nicholas 
church  upon  the  25th  of  August.  The  marriage,  as  we  have  seen,  was  in  tho 
city  hall,  upon  the  preceding  day.  The  bridal  pair  went  upon  the  Monday  fol- 
lowing, to  the  church,  for  the  benediction.  That  day  was  called  the  "  hoch- 
zeitliche  Ehrentag,"  the  day  in  honor  of  the  wedding. — MS.  Dresden  Archives. 
Acta  des  P.  z.  Oranien,  etc.,  Beylager,  1561. — Compare  Bottiger,  109. 


318  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC,  [1561. 

Elector  of  Saxony.  He  "  comported  himself  with  such 
especial  chivalry"  that  his  far-famed  namesake  and  remote 
successor,  Augustus  the  Strong,  could  hardly  have  evinced 
more  knightly  prowess.  On  the  first  day  he  encountered 
George  Von  Wiedebach,  and  unhorsed  him  so  handsomely 
that  the  discomfited  cavalier's  shoulder  was  dislocated.  On 
the  following  day  he  tilted  with  Michael  von  Denstedt,  and 
was  again  victorious,  hitting  his  adversary  full  in  the  target, 
and  "  bearing  him  off  over  his  horse's  tail  so  neatly,  that  the 
knight  came  down,  heels  over  head,  upon  the  earth." 

On  Wednesday,  there  was  what  was  called  the  pallia- 
tourney.f  The  Prince  of  Orange,  at  the  head  of  six  bands, 
amounting  in  all  to  twenty-nine  men  ;  the  Margrave  Georgo 
of  Brandenburg,  with  seven  bands,  comprising  thirty-four 
men,  and  the  Elector  Augustus,  with  one  band  of  four  men, 
besides  himself,  all  entered  the  lists.  Lots  were  drawn  for  the 
"  gate  of  honor,"  and  gained  by  the  Margrave,  who  accord- 
ingly defended  it  with  his  band.  Twenty  courses  were  then 
run  between  these  champions  and  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
with  his  men.  The  Brandenburgs  broke  seven  lances,  the 
Prince's  party  only  six,  so  that  Orange  was  obliged  to  leave 
the  lists  discomfited.  The  ever-victorious  Augustus  then  took 
the  field,  and  ran  twenty  courses  against  the  defenders, 
breaking  fourteen  spears  to  the  Brandenburg's  ten.  The  Mar- 
grave, thus  defeated,  surrendered  the  "  gate  of  honor"  to 
the  Elector,  who  maintained  it  the  rest  of  the  day  against  all 
comers.  It  is  fair  to  suppose,  although  the  fact  is  not 
recorded,  that  the  Elector's  original  band  had  received  some 
reinforcement.  Otherwise,  it  would  be  difficult  to  account  for 
these  constant  victories,  except  by  ascribing  more  than  mortal 
strength,  as  well  as  valor,  to  Augustus  and  his  four  champions. 
His  party  broke  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  lances,  of  which 


°  " und  ihn  so  geschwind  ledig  hintern  Schwantz  berabgerannt  das  er 

eher  mit  dem  Ropfe  als  mit  dem  Fuessen  zur  Erde  gekommen  ist." — MS.  Dresden 
Archives,  ubi  sup. 

|  "  Pallia  Rennen." — MS.  ubi  sup. 


1561.]  TILTING   AND   MUMMING,  319 

number  the  Elector  himself  broke  thirty-eight  and  a  half. 
He  received  the  first  prize,  but  declined  other  guerdons 
adjudged  to  him.  The  reward  for  the  hardest  hitting  was 
conferred  on  Wolf  Von  Schonberg,  "  who  thrust  Kurt  Von 
Arnim  clean  out  of  the  saddle,  so  that  he  fell  against  the 
barriers/'* 

On  Thursday  was  the  riding  at  the  ring.  The  knights  who 
partook  of  this  sport  wore  various  strange  garbs  over  their 
armor.  Some  were  disguised  as  hussars,  some  as  miners, 
some  as  lansquenettes  ;  others  as  Tartans,  pilgrims,  fools,  bird- 
catchers,  hunters,  monks,  peasants,  or  Netherland  cuirassiers. 
Each  party  was  attended  by  a  party  of  musicians,  attired  in 
similar  costume.  Moreover,  Count  Gunter  Von  Schwartzburg 
made  his  appearance  in  the  lists,  accompanied  "  by  five  re- 
markable giants  of  wonderful  proportions  and  appearance,  very 
ludicrous  to  behold,  who  performed  all  kind  of  odd  antics  on 
horseback." 

The  next  day  there  was  a  foot  tourney,  followed  in  the 
evening  by  "mummeries,"  or  masquerades.  These  masques 
were  repeated  on  the  following  evening,  and  afforded  great 
entertainment.  The  costumes  were  magnificent,  "  with 
golden  and  pearl  embroidery,"  the  dances  were  very  merry 
and  artistic,  and  the  musicians,  who  formed  a  part  of  the 
company,  exhibited  remarkable  talent.  These  "  mummeries" 
had  been  brought  by  William  of  Orange  from  the  Netherlands, 
at  the  express  request  of  the  Elector,  on  the  ground  that  such 
matters  were  much  better  understood  in  the  provinces  than  in 
Germany. 

Such  is  a  slight  sketch  of  the  revels  by  winch  this  ill-fated 
Bartholomew  marriage  was  celebrated.  While  William  of 
Orange  was  thus  employed  in  Germany,  Granvelle  seized  the 
opportunity  to  make  his  entry  into  the  city  of  Mechlin,  as 
archbishop  ;  believing  that  such  a  step  would  be  better  accom- 
plished in  the  absence  of  the  Prince  from  the  country,  f  The 
Cardinal  found  no  one  in  the  city  to  welcome  him.      None  of 


*  MS,  ubi  sup.  f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  332 


320  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

the  great  nobles  were  there.*  The  people  looked  upon  the 
procession  with  silent  hatred.  No  man  cried,  God  bless  him. 
He  wrote  to  the  King  that  he  should  push  forward  the  whole 
matter  of  the  bishoprics  as  fast  as  possible,  adding  the 
ridiculous  assertion  that  the  opposition  came  entirely  from  the 
nobility,  and  that  "  if  the  seigniors  did  not  talk  so  much, 
not  a  man   of  the   people   would   open  his   mouth  on    the 

subject."t 

The  remonstrance  offered  by  the  three  estates  of  Brabant 
against  the  scheme  had  not  influenced  Philip.  He  had  replied 
in  a  peremptory  tone.  He  had  assured  them  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  receding,  and  that  the  province  of  Brabant  ought 
to  feel  itself  indebted  to  him  for  having  given  them  prelates 
instead  of  abbots  to  take  care  of  their  eternal  interests,  and 
for  having  erected  their  religious  houses  into  episco23ates4 
The  abbeys  made  what  resistance  they  could,  but  were  soon 
fain  to  come  to  a  compromise  with  the  bishops,  who,  according 
to  the  arrangement  thus  made,  were  to  receive  a  certain  por- 
tion of  the  abbey  revenues,  while  the  remainder  was  to  belong 
to  the  institutions,  together  with  a  continuance  of  their  right 
to  elect  their  own  chiefs,  subordinate,  however,  to  the  ajDpro- 
bation  of  the  respective  prelates  of  the  diocese.§  Thus  was 
the  episcopal  matter  settled  in  Brabant.  In  many  of  the 
other  bishoprics  the  new  dignitaries  were  treated  with  dis- 
respect, as  they  made  their  entrance  into  their  cities,  while 
they  experienced  endless  opposition  and  annoyance  on  attempt- 
ing to  take  possession  of  the  revenue  assigned  to  them. 


*  Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.  ciii.  24. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  332. — "Si  no  hablaran  tanto  los  senores,  no  hablara  horti' 
bre  del  pueblo  nada."  $  Bor,  i.  28. 

§  Hoofd,  i.  37.    Bor.    Hopper.  29. 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  inquisition  the  great  cause  of  the  revolt — The  three  varieties  of  the  institu. 
tion — The  Spanish  inquisition  described — The  Episcopal  inquisition  in 
the  Netherlands — The  Papal  inquisition  established  in  the  provinces  by 
Charles  V. — His  instructions  to  the  inquisitors — They  are  renewed  by 
Philip — Inquisitor  Titelmann — Instances  of  his  manner  of  proceeding — 
Spanish  and  Netherland  inquisitions  compared — Conduct  of  Granvelle — 
Faveau  and  Mallart  condemned  at  Valenciennes — "  Journee  des  maubrules" 
— Severe  measures  at  Valenciennes — Attack  of  the  Rhetoric  Clubs  upon 
Granvelle — Granvelle's  insinuations  againt  Egmont  and  Simon  Renard — ■ 
Timidity  of  Viglius — Universal  hatred  toward  the  Cardinal — Buffoonery  of 
Brederode  and  Lumey — Courage  of  Granvelle — Philip  taxes  the  Nether- 
lands for  the  suppression  of  the  Huguenots  in  France — Meeting  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Fleece — Assembly  at  the  house  of  Orange — Demand  upon 
the  estates  for  supplies — Montigny  appointed  envoy  to  Spain — Open  and 
determined  opposition  to  Granvelle — Secret  representations  by  the  Cardinal 
to  Philip,  concerning  Egmont  and  other  Seigniors — Line  of  conduct  traced 
out  for  the  King — Montigny's  representations  in  Spain — Unsatisfactory  result 
of  his  mission. 

The  great  cause  of  the  revolt  which,  within  a  few  years,  was 
to  break  forth  throughout  the  Netherlands,  was  the  inqui- 
sition. It  is  almost  puerile  to  look  further  or  deeper,  when 
such  a  source  of  convulsion  lies  at  the  very  outset  of  any 
investigation.  During  the  war  there  had  been,  for  reasons 
already  indicated,  an  occasional  pause  in  the  religious  perse- 
cution. Philip  had  now  returned  to  Spain,  having  arranged, 
with  great  precision,  a  comprehensive  scheme  for  extermin- 
ating that  religious  belief  which  was  already  accepted  by  a 
very  large  portion  of  his  Netherland  subjects.  From  afar 
there  rose  upon  the  provinces  the  prophetic  vision  of  a  coming 
evil  still  more   terrible  than   any  which  had  yet  oppressed 

vol.  i.  21 


322  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

them.  As  across  the  bright  plains  of  Sicily,  when  the  sun  is 
rising,  the  vast  pyramidal  shadow  of  Mount  Etna  is  definitely 
and  visibly  projected — the  phantom  of  that  ever-present 
enemy,  which  holds  fire  and  devastation  in  its  bosom — so,  in 
the  morning  hour  of  Philip's  reign,  the  shadow  of  the  inqui- 
sition was  cast  from  afar  across  those  warm  and  smiling 
provinces — a  spectre  menacing  fiercer  flames  and  wider 
desolation  than  those  which  mere  physical  agencies  could 
ever  compass. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  somewhat  superfluous  discus* 
sion  concerning  the  different  kinds  of  inquisition.  The  dis- 
tinction drawn  between  the  papal,  the  episcopal,  and  the 
Spanish  inquisitions,  did  not,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  con- 
vince many  unsophisticated  minds  of  the  merits  of  the  estab- 
lishment in  any  of  its  shapes.  However  classified  or  entitled, 
it  was  a  machine  for  inquiring  into  a  man's  thoughts,  and  for 
burning  him  if  the  result  was  not  satisfactory. 

The  Spanish  inquisition,  strictly  so  called,  that  is  to  say,  the 
modern  or  later  institution  established  by  Pope  Alexander  the 
Sixth  and  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  was  doubtless  invested  with 
a  more  complete  apparatus  for  inflicting  human  misery,  and  for 
appalling  human  imagination,  than  any  of  the  other  less 
artfully  arranged  inquisitions,  whether  papal  or  episcopal.  It 
had  been  originally  devised  for  Jews  or  Moors,  whom  the 
Christianity  of  the  age  did  not  regard  as  human  beings,  but 
who  could  not  be  banished  without  depopulating  certain 
districts.  It  was  soon,  however,  extended  from  pagans  to 
heretics.  The  Dominican  Torquemada  was  the  first  Moloch  to 
be  placed  upon  this  pedestal  of  blood  and  fire,  and  from  that 
day  forward  the  "  holy  office"  was  almost  exclusively  in  the 
hands  of  that  band  of  brothers.  In  the  eighteen  years  of 
Torquemada's  administration,  ten  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty  individuals  were  burned  alive,  and  ninety-seven  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  twenty-one  punished  with  infamy, 
confiscation  of  property,  or  perpetual  imprisonment,  so  that 
the  total  number  of  families  destroyed  by  this  one  friar  alone 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred 


1561.]  INQUISITORIAL    ROUTINE.  323 

and  one.*  In  course  of  time  the  jurisdiction  of  the  office 
was  extended.  It  taught  the  savages  of  India  and  America 
to  shudder  at  the  name  of  Christianity.  The  fear  of  its  in- 
troduction froze  the  earlier  heretics  of  Italy,  France,  and  Ger- 
many into  orthodoxy.  It  was  a  court  owning  allegiance  to 
no  temporal  authority,  superior  to  all  other  tribunals.  It  was 
a  bench  of  monks  without  appeal,  having  its  familiars  in  every 
house,  diving  into  the  secrets  of  eveiy  fireside,  judging,  and 
axecuting  its  horrible  decrees  without  responsibility.  It  con- 
demned not  deeds,  but  thoughts.  It  affected  to  descend  into 
individual  conscience,  and  to  punish  the  crimes  which  it  pre- 
tended to  discover.  Its  process  was  reduced  to  a  horrible 
simplicity.  It  arrested  on  suspicion,  tortured  till  confession, 
and  then  punished  by  fire.  Two  witnesses,  and  those  to 
separate  facts,  were  sufficient  to  consign  the  victim  to  a 
loathsome  dungeon.  Here  he  was  sparingly  supplied  with 
food,  forbidden  to  speak,  or  even  to  sing — to  which  pastime  it 
could  hardly  be  thought  he  would  feel  much  inclination — and 
then  left  to  himself,  till  famine  and  misery  should  break  his 
spirit.  When  that  time  was  supposed  to  have  arrived  he  was 
examined.  Did  he  confess,  and  forswear  his  heresy,  whether 
actually  innocent  or  not,  he  might  then  assume  the  sacred 
shirt,  and  escape  with  confiscation  of  all  his  property.  Did 
he  persist  in  the  avowal  of  his  innocence,  two  witnesses 
sent  him  to  the  stake,  one  witness  to  the  rack.  He  was 
informed  of  the  testimony  against  him,  but  never  confronted 
with  the  witness.  That  accuser  might  be  his  son,  father,  or 
the  wife  of  his  bosom,  for  all  were  enjoined,  under  the  death- 
penalty,  to  inform  the  inquisitors  of  every  suspicious  word 
which  might  fall  from  their  nearest  relatives.  The  indict- 
ment being  thus  supported,  the  prisoner  was  tried  by  torture. 
The  rack  was  the  court  of  justice  ;  the  criminal's  only  advocate 
was  his  fortitude — for  the  nominal  counsellor,  who  was  per- 
mitted no  communication  with  the  prisoner,  and  was  furnished 
neither  with  documents  nor  with  power  to  procure  evidence. 


*  Llorente,  i.  280. 


324  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC,  [1561. 

was  a  puppet,  aggravating  the  lawlessness  of  the  proceedings 
by  the  mockery  of  legal  forms.  The  torture  took  place  at 
midnight,  in  a  gloomy  dungeon,  dimly  lighted  by  torches. 
The  victim — whether  man,  matron,  or  tender  virgin — was 
stripped  naked,  and  stretched  upon  the  wooden  bench.  Water, 
weights,  fires,  pulleys,  screws — all  the  apparatus  by  which  the 
sinews  could  be  strained  without  cracking,  the  bones  crushed 
without  breaking,  and  the  body  racked  exquisitely  without 
giving  up  its  ghost,  was  now  put  into  operation.  The  execu- 
tioner, enveloped  in  a  black  robe  from  head  to  foot,  with  his 
eyes  glaring  at  his  victim  through  holes  cut  in  the  hood  which 
muffled  his  face,  practised  successively  all  the  forms  of  torture 
which  the  devilish  ingenuity  of  the  monks  had  invented.  The 
imagination  sickens  when  striving  to  keep  pace  with  these 
dreadful  realities.  Those  who  wish  to  indulge  their  curiosity 
concerning  the  details  of  the  system,  may  easily  satisfy 
themselves  at  the  present  day.  The  flood  of  light  which  has 
been  poured  upon  the  subject  more  than  justifies  the  horror 
and  the  rebellion  of  the  Netherlander. 

The  period  during  which  torture  might  be  inflicted  from 
day  to  day  was  unlimited  in  duration.  It  could  only  be 
terminated  by  confession  ;  so  that  the  scaffold  was  the  sole 
refuge  from  the  rack.  Individuals  have  borne  the  torture  and 
the  dungeon  fifteen  years,  and  have  been  burned  at  the  stake 
at  last. 

Execution  followed  confession,  but  the  number  of  con- 
demned prisoners  was  allowed  to  accumulate,  that  a  multitude 
of  victims  might  grace  each  great  gala-day.  The  auto-da-fe 
was  a  solemn  festival.  The  monarch,  the  high  functionaries 
of  the  land,  the  reverend  clergy,  the  ])opulace  regarded  it  as 
an  inspiring  and  delightful  recreation.  When  the  appointed 
morning  arrived,  the  victim  was  taken  from  his  dungeon.  He 
was  then  attired  in  a  yellow  robe  without  sleeves,  like  a 
herald's  coat,  embroidered  all  over  with  black  figures  of  devils. 
A  large  conical  paper  mitre  was  placed  upon  his  head,  upon 
which  was  represented  a  human  being  in  the  midst  of  flames, 
surrounded  by  imps.     His  tongue  was  then  painfully  gagged, 


1561.]  AUTOS-DA-FE.  325 

so  that  he  could  neither  open  nor  shut  his  mouth.  After  he 
was  thus  accoutred,  and  just  as  he  was  leaving  his  cell,  a 
breakfast,  consisting  of  every  delicacy,  was  placed  before  him, 
and  he  was  urged,  with  ironical  politeness,  to  satisfy  his 
hunger.  He  was  then  led  forth  into  the  public  square.  The 
procession  was  formed  with  great  pomp.  It  was  headed  by 
the  little  school  children,  who  were  immediately  followed  by 
the  band  of  prisoners,  each  attired  in  the  horrible  yet  ludicrous 
manner  described.  Then  came  the  magistrates  and  nobility, 
the  prelates  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  Church  :  the  holy 
inquisitors,  with  their  officials  and  familiars,  followed,  all  on 
horseback,  with  the  blood-red  flag  of  the  "  sacred  office" 
waving  above  them,  blazoned  upon  either  side  with  the  por- 
traits of  Alexander  and  of  Ferdinand,  the  pair  of  brothers 
who  had  established  the  institution.  After  the  procession 
came  the  rabble.  When  all  had  reached  the  neighborhood  of 
the  scaffold;  and  had  been  arranged  in  order,  a  sermon  was 
preached  to  the  assembled  multitude.  It  was  filled  with  lauda- 
tions of  the  inquisition,  and  with  blasphemous  revilings  against 
the  condemned  prisoners.  Then  the  sentences  were  read  to 
the  individual  victims.  Then  the  clergy  chanted  the  fifty-first 
psalm,  the  whole  vast  throng  uniting  in  one  tremendous 
miserere.  If  a  priest  happened  to  be  among  the  culprits,  he 
was  now  stripped  of  the  canonicals  which  he  had  hitherto 
worn,  while  his  hands,  lips,  and  shaven  crown  were  scraped 
with  a  bit  of  glass,  by  which  process  the  oil  of  his  consecration 
was  supposed  to  be  removed.  He  was  then  thrown  into  the 
common  herd.  Those  of  the  prisoners  who  were  reconciled, 
and  those  whose  execution  was  not  yet  appointed,  were  now 
separated  from  the  others.  The  rest  were  compelled  to  mount 
a  scaffold,  where  the  executioner  stood  ready  to  conduct  them 
to  the  fire.  The  inquisitors  then  delivered  them  into  his 
hands,  with  an  ironical  request  that  he  would  deal  with  them 
tenderly,  and  without  blood-letting  or  injury.  Those  who 
remained  steadfast  to  the  last  were  then  burned  at  the  stake  ; 
they  who  in  the  last  extremity  renounced  their  faith  were 
strangled  before  being  thrown  into  the  flames.     Such  was  the 


326  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

Spanish  inquisition — technically  so  called.  It  was,  according 
to  the  biographer  of  Philip  the  Second,  a  "  heavenly  remedy, 
a  guardian  angel  of  Paradise,  a  lions'  den  in  which  Daniel  and 
other  just  men  could  sustain  no  injury,  but  in  which  perverse 
sinners  were  torn  to  pieces."*  It  was  a  tribunal  superior  to 
all  human  law,  without  appeal,  and  certainly  owing  no  alle- 
giance to  the  powers  of  earth  or  heaven.  No  rank,  high  or 
humble,  was  safe  from  its  jurisdiction.  The  royal  family  were 
not  sacred,  nor  the  pauper's  hovel.  Even  death  afforded  no 
protection.  The  holy  office  invaded  the  prince  in  his  palace 
and  the  beggar  in  his  shroud.  The  corpses  of  dead  heretics 
were  mutilated  and  burned.  The  inquisitors  preyed  upon 
carcases  and  rifled  graves.  A  gorgeous  festival  of  the  holy 
office  had,  as  we  have  seen,  welcomed  Philip  to  his  native 
land.  The  news  of  these  tremendous  autos-da-fe,  in  which 
so  many  illustrious  victims  had  been  sacrificed  before  their 
sovereign's  eyes,  had  reached  the  Netherlands  almost  sim- 
ultaneously with  the  bulls  creating  the  new  bishoprics  in 
the  provinces.  It  was  not  likely  that  the  measure  would  be 
rendered  more  palatable  by  this  intelligence  of  the  royal 
amusements.f 

The  Spanish  inquisition  had  never  flourished  in  any  soil  but 
that  of  the  peninsula.  It  is  possible  that  the  King  and  Gran- 
velle  were  sincere  in  their  protestations  of  entertaining  no  in- 
tention of  introducing  it  into  the  Netherlands,  although  the 
protestations  of  such  men  are  entitled  to  but  little  weight. 
The  truth  was,  that  the  inquisition  existed  already  in  the 
provinces.  It  was  the  main  object  of  the  government  to  con- 
firm and  extend  the  institution.  The  episcopal  inquisition, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  had  been  enlarged  by  the  enormous 


*  "Lago  de  los  leones  de  Daniel  que  a  los  justos  no  hazen  mal,  si  despe- 
dafan  los  obstinados  impenitentes  pecadores,  remedio  del  cielo  i  Angel  de  la  guarda 
del  Paraiso"  etc. — Cabrera,  v.  236. 

f  Bor,  iii.  113  to  119 — who  had  used  the  worksof  his  contemporaries,  Gonsalvo 
Montano  and  Giorgio  Nigrino ;  Hoofd,  i.  30-34. — Compare  Llorente,  Hist.  Crit.  de 
l'lnquis.,  particularly  i.  chap.  8  and  9,  and  iv.  c.  46;  Vander  Yynckt,  i.  200-238; 
Hopper,  p.  ii.  c.  9 ;  Grot.  Ann.  i.  14,  15. 


1561.]  PAPAL   INQUISITION   IN    THE   PKOVINCES.  327 

increase  in  the  number  of  bishops,  each  of  whom  was  to  be 
head  inquisitor  in  his  diocese,  with  two  special  inquisitors  un- 
der him.  With  this  apparatus  and  with  the  edicts,  as  already 
described,  it  might  seem  that  enough  had  already  been  done 
for  the  suppression  of  heresy.  But  more  had  been  done.  A 
regular  papal  inquisition  also  existed  in  the  Netherlands. 
This  establishment,  like  the  edicts,  was  the  gift  of  Charles  the 
Fifth.  A  word  of  introduction  is  here  again  necessary — nor 
let  the  reader  deem  that  too  much  time  is  devoted  to  this  pain- 
ful subject.  On  the  contrary,  no  definite  idea  can  be  formed 
as  to  the  character  of  the  Netherland  revolt  without  a  thor- 
ough understanding  of  this  great  cause— the  religious  persecu- 
tion in  which  the  country  had  lived,  breathed,  and  had  its 
being,  for  half  a  century,  and  in  which,  had  the  rebellion  not 
broken  out  at  last,  the  population  must  have  been  either  ex- 
terminated or  entirely  embruted.  The  few  years  which  are 
immediately  to  occupy  us  in  the  present  and  succeeding  chap- 
ter, present  the  country  in  a  daily  increasing  ferment  from  the 
action  of  causes  which  had  existed  long  before,  but  which 
received  an  additional  stimulus  as  the  policy  of  the  new  reign 
developed  itself. 

Previously  to  the  accession  of  Charles  V.,  it  can  not  be  said 
that  an  inquisition  had  ever  been  established  in  the  provinces. 
Isolated  instances  to  the  contrary,  adduced  by  the  canonists 
who  gave  their  advice  to  Margaret  of  Parma,  rather  proved 
the  absence  than  the  existence  of  the  system.*     In  the  reign 


*  Histoire  des  causes  de  la  desunion,  revokes  et  alterations  des  Pays-Bas  depute 
l'abdication  de  Charles  Quint  en  1555  jusqu'a  la  mort  du  Prince  de  Panne  en 
1592.  Par  Messire  Renoni  de  France,  Chevalier,  Seigneur  de  Nbyelles,  President 
d'Artois. — MS.  Bibl.  de  Bourgogne,  i.  chap.  5  et  7. 

This  important  historical  work,  by  a  noble  of  the  Walloon  provinces,  and  a 
contemporary  of  the  events  he  describes,  has  never  been  published.  The  distin- 
guished M.  Dumortier,  of  the  "Commission  Royale  d'Histoire,"  has  long  prom- 
ised an  edition  which  can  not  fail  to  be  as  satisfactory  as  learning  and  experience 
can  make  it.  The  work  is  of  considerable  length,  in  five  manuscript  folio  vol- 
umes. It  was  written  mainly  from  the  papers  of  Councillor  d'Assonleville.  The 
almost  complete  revelations  of  state  secrets  in  the  inestimable  publications  of  the 
Simancas   Correspondence,  by   M.   Gachard,  has  deprived  the  work,  however, 


328  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [156i 

of  Philip  the  Good,  the  vicar  of  the  inquisitor-general  gave 
sentence  against  some  heretics,  who  were  burned  in  Lille 
(1448).  In  1459,  Pierre  Troussart,  a  Jacobin  monk,  con- 
demned many  Waldenses,  together  with  some  leading  citizens 
of  Artois,  accused  of  sorcery  and  heresy.  He  did  this,  how- 
ever, as  inquisitor  for  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  so  that  it  was  an 
act  of  episcopal,  and  not  papal  inquisition.*  In  general,  when 
inquisitors  were  wanted  in  the  provinces,  it  was  necessary  to 
borrow  them  from  France  or  Germany.  The  exigencies  of  per- 
secution making  a  domestic  staff  desirable,  Charles  the  Fifth, 
in  the  year  1522,  applied  to  his  ancient  tutor,  whom  he  had 
placed  on  the  papal  throne.f 

Charles  had,  however,  already,  in  the  previous  year  ap- 
pointed Francis  Van  der  Hulst  to  be  inquisitor-general  for 
the  Netherlands. J  This  man,  whom  Erasmus  called  a  "  won- 
derful enemy  to  learning,"  was  also  provided  with  a  coadjutor, 
Nicholas  of  Egmond  by  name,  a  Carmelite  monk,  who  was 
characterized  by  the  same  authority  as  "a  madman  armed 
with  a  sword."  The  inquisitor-general  received  full  powers 
to  cite,  arrest,  imprison,  torture  heretics  without  observing  the 
ordinary  forms  of  law,  and  to  cause  his  sentences  to  be  exe- 
cuted without  appeal. §  He  was,  however,  in  pronouncing 
definite  judgments,  to  take  the  advice  of  Laurens,  president 
of  the  grand  council  of  Mechlin,  a  coarse,  cruel  and  ignorant 
man,  who  "  hated  learning  with  a  more  than  deadly  hatred,"|| 
and  who  might  certainly  be  relied  upon  to  sustain  the  severest 


of  a  large  portion  of  its  value.  On  the  subject  of  national  politics  and  the  gen- 
eral condition  of  the  country,  the  writer  can  not  for  a  moment  be  compared  tc 
Bor,  in  erudition,  patience,  or  fulness  of  detail.  He  is  a  warm  Catholic,  but 
his  style  has  not  a  tithe  of  the  vividly  descriptive  and  almost  dramatic  power 
of  Pontus  Payen,  another  cotemporary  Catholic  historian,  who  well  deserves 
publication. 

*  Renom  de  France  MS.,  ubi  sup. 

■{•  Ibid.     Introduction  to  Gachard  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  voL  L 

%  By  commission,  23  April,  1522.     Gachard     Introduction  Philippe  II.,  cix 

§  Gachard.     Introduction,  etc.,  cix. 

|  Expression  of  Erasmus.     Brandt.  Reformatie,  i.  93. 


1561.]  EARLY   FUNCTIONARIES.  329 

judgments  which  the  inquisitor  might  fulminate.  Adrian, 
accordingly,  commissioned  Van  der  Hulst  to  be  universal  and 
general  inquisitor  for  all  the  Netherlands.*  At  the  same  time 
it  was  expressly  stated  that  his  functions  were  not  to  super- 
sede those  exercised  by  the  bishops  as  inquisitors  in  their  own 
sees.  Thus  the  papal  inquisition  was  established  in  the  prov- 
inces. Van  der  Hulst,  a  person  of  infamous  character,  was 
not  the  man  to  render  the  institution  less  odious  than  it  was 
by  its  nature.  Before  he  had  fulfilled  his  duties  two  years, 
however,  he  was  degraded  from  his  office  by  the  Emperor  for 
having  forged  a  document .f  In  1525,  Buedens,  Houseau  and 
Coppin  were  confirmed  by  Clement  the  Seventh  as  inquisitors 
in  the  room  of  Van  der  Hulst.  In  1537,  Kuard  Tapper  and 
Michael  Drutius  were  appointed  by  Paul  the  Third,  on  the 
decease  of  Coppin,  the  other  two  remaining  in  office.  The 
powers  of  the  papal  inquisitors  had  been  gradually  extended, 
and  they  were,  by  1545,  not  only  entirely  independent  of  the 
episcopal  inquisition,  but  had  acquired  right  of  jurisdiction 
over  bishops  and  archbishops,  whom  they  were  empowered  to 
arrest  and  imprison.  They  had  also  received  and  exercised  the 
privilege  of  appointing  delegates,  or  sub-inquisitors,  on  their 
own  authority.  Much  of  the  work  was,  indeed,  performed  by 
these  officials,  the  most  notorious  of  whom  were  Barbier,  De 
Monte,  Titelmann,  Fabiy,  Campo  de  Zon,  and  Stryen.J  In 
1545,  and  again  in  1550,  a  stringent  set  of  instructions  were 
drawn  up  by  the  Emperor  for  the  guidance  of  these  papal  in- 
quisitors. A  glance  at  their  context  shows  that  the  establish- 
ment was  not  intended  to  be  an  empty  form. 

They  were  empowered  to  inquire,  proceed  against,  and 
chastise  all  heretics,  all  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  and  their 
protectors.§  Accompanied  by  a  notary,  they  were  to  collect 
written  information  concerning  every  person  in  the  provinces, 
"infected  or  vehemently  suspected."     They  were  authorized 


*  By  brief;  June  1523.     Gachard.     Introd.  Phil.  II.,  L  cxl  f  Ibid. 

\  Gachard.     Phil.  II.,  i.     Introduction,  cxiv. 

§  See  the  instructions  in  Vauder  Haer,  i.  161-175. 


330  THE   BISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

to  summon  all  subjects  of  his  Majesty,  whatever  their  rank, 
quality,  or  station,  and  to  compel  them  to  give  evidence,  or  to 
communicate  suspicions.  They  were  to  punish  all  who  perti- 
naciously refused  such  depositions  with  death.  The  Emperor 
commanded  his  presidents,  judges,  sheriffs,  and  all  other 
judicial  and  executive  officers  to  render  all  "  assistance  to  the 
inquisitors  and  their  familiars  in  their  holy  and  pious  inqui- 
sition, whenever  required  so  to  do,"  on  pain  of  being  punished 
as  encouragers  of  heresy,  that  is  to  say,  with  death.  When- 
ever the  inquisitors  should  be  satisfied  as  to  the  heresy  of  any 
individual,  they  were  to  order  his  arrest  and  detention  by  the 
judge  of  the  place,  or  by  others  arbitrarily  to  be  selected  by 
them.  The  judges  or  persons  thus  chosen,  were  enjoined  to 
fulfil  the  order,  on  pain  of  being  punished  as  protectors  of 
heresy,  that  is  to  say,  with  death,  by  sword  or  fire.  If  the 
prisoner  were  an  ecclesiastic,  the  inquisitor  was  to  deal  sum- 
marily with  the  case  "  without  noise  or  form  in  the  process — 
selecting  an  imperial  councillor  to  render  the  sentence  of  abso- 
lution or  condemnation."  *  If  the  prisoner  were  a  lay  person, 
the  inquisitor  was  to  order  his  punishment,  according  to  the 
edicts,  by  the  council  of  the  province.  In  case  of  lay 
persons  suspected  but  not  convicted  of  heresy,  the  inquisitor 
was  to  proceed  to  their  chastisement,  "with  the  advice 
of  a  counsellor  or  some  other  expert."  In  conclusion, 
the  Emperor  ordered  the  "  inquisitors  to  make  it  known 
that  they  were  not  doing  their  own  work,  but  that  of 
Christ,  and  to  persuade  all  persons  of  this  fact."f  This 
clause  of  their  instructions  seemed  difficult  of  accomplish- 
ment, for  no  reasonable  person  could  doubt  that  Christ, 
had    he    re-appeared    in    human    form,    would     have    been 


*  "Sumniatirn  et  de  piano  sine  figura  et  strepitu  judicii  et  processu  instructo," 
etc. — Vander  Haer,  168. 

f  "In  hoc  praecipue  laborabunt  dicti  inquisitores ut  omnibus  persuadeant, 

se  non  quae  sua  sunt,  sed  quae  sunt  Christi  quaerere,  hoc  solum  conartes." — V.  d. 
Haer,  173. 


1561.]  IMPERIAL   INSTRUCTIONS.  331 

instantly  crucified  again,  or  burned  alive  in  any  place  within 
the  dominions  of  Charles  or  Philip.  The  blasphemy  with 
which  the  name  of  Jesus  was  used  by  such  men  to  sanctify  all 
these  nameless  horrors,  is  certainly  not  the  least  of  their 
crimes. 

In  addition  to  these  instructions,  a  special  edict  had  been 
issued  on  the  26th  April,  1550,  according  to  which  all  judi- 
cial officers,  at  the  requisition  of  the  inquisitors,  were  to  render 
them  all  assistance  in  the  execution  of  their  office,  by  arresting 
and  detaining  all  persons  suspected  of  heresy,  according  to 
the  instructions  issued  to  said  inquisitors  ;  and  this,  notwith- 
standing any  privileges  or  charters  to  the  contrary*  In  short, 
the  inquisitors  were  not  subject  to  the  civil  authority,  but  the 
civil  authority  to  them.  The  imperial  edict  empowered  them 
"  to  chastise,  degrade,  denounce,  and  deliver  oVer  heretics  to 
the  secular  judges  for  punishment  ;  to  make  use  of  gaols,  and 
to  make  arrests,  without  ordinary  warrant,  but  merely  with 
notice  given  to  a  single  counselor,  who  was  obliged  to  give 
sentence  according  to  their  desire,  without  application  to  the 
ordinary  judge."f 

These  instructions  to  the  inquisitors  had  been  renewed  and 
confirmed  by  Philip,  in  the  very  first  month  of  his  reign%  (28th 
Nov.  1555).  As  in  the  case  of  the  edicts,  it  had  been  thought 
desirable  by  Granvelle  to  make  use  of  the  supposed  magic  of 
the  Emperor's  name  to  hallow  the  whole  machinery  of  perse- 
cution. The  action  of  the  system  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  imperial  period  had  been  terrible.  Suffered  for  a  time  to 
languish  during  the  French  war,  it  had  lately  been  renewed 
with  additional  vigor.  Among  all  the  inquisitors,  the  name 
of  Peter  Titelmann  was  now  pre-eminent.  He  executed  his 
infamous  functions  throughout  Flanders,  Do'uay,  and  Tournay, 
the  most  thriving  and  populous  portions  of  the  Netherlands, 
with  a  swiftness,  precision,  and  even  with  a  jocularity  which 


*  Brandt.     Hist.  Reformatie,  i.  158. 
f  Meteren,  ii.  37.  \  Vander  Haer,  175. 


332  THE    RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

hardly  seemed  human.  There  was  a  kind  of  grim  humor 
about  the  man.  The  woman  who,  according  to  Lear's  fool3 
was  wont  to  thrust  her  live  eels  into  the  hot  paste,  "  rapping 
them  o'  the  coxcombs  with  a  stick  and  crying  reproach- 
fully, Wantons,  lie  dowii  !"  had  the  spirit  of  a  true  inquis- 
itor. Even  so  dealt  Titelmann  with  his  heretics  writhing 
on  the  rack  or  in  the  flames.  Cotemporary  chronicles  give  a 
picture  of  him  as  of  some  grotesque  yet  terrible  goblin, 
careering  through  the  country  by  night  or  day,  alone,  on 
horseback,  smiting  the  trembling  peasants  on  the  head  with  a 
great  club,  spreading  dismay  far  and  wide,  dragging  suspected 
persons  from  their  firesides  or  their  beds,  and  thrusting  them 
into  dungeons,  arresting,  torturing,  strangling,  burning,  with 
hardly  the  shadow  of  warrant,  information,  or  process.* 

The  secular  sheriff,  familiarly  called  Ked-Rod,  from  the 
color  of  his  wand  of  office,  meeting  this  inquisitor  Titelmann 
one  day  upon  the  high  road,  thus  wonderingly  addressed 
him — "  How  can  you  venture  to  go  about  alone,  or  at  most 
with  an  attendant  or  two,  arresting  people  on  every  side,  while 
I  dare  not  attempt  to  execute  my  office,  except  at  the  head  of 
a  strong  force,  armed  in  proof ;  and  then  only  at  the  peril  of 
my  life  ?" 

"  Ah  !  Red-Rod,"  answered  Peter,  jocosely,  "you  deal  with 
bad  people.  I  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  I  seize  only  the  inno- 
cent and  virtuous,  who  make  no  resistance,  and  let  themselves 
be  taken  like  lambs." 

"  Mighty  well,"  said  the  other  ;  "but  if  you  arrest  all  the 
good  people  and  I  all  the  bad,  'tis  difficult  to  say  who  in  the 
world  is  to  escape  chastisement. "f  The  reply  of  the  inquis- 
itor has  not  been  recorded,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he 
proceeded  like  a  strong  man  to  run  his  day's  course. 

He  was  the  most  active  of  all  the  agents  in  the  religious 


*  Brandt,  i.  228;  168  et  passim.  Kock,  VaderL  Worterbuch.  Art.  Titelmann. 
— Compare  the  brilliantly  written  episode  of  Professor  Altmeyer:  "Unesuccur- 
sale  du  tribunal  de  sang,"  (Brux.,  1853),  pp.  37,  38. 

\  Brandt.     Hist,  der  Reformatie,  i.  228. 


1561.]  PETER  titelmann's  EXPLOITS.  333 

persecution  at  the  epoch  of  which  we  are  now  treating,  but  he 
had  been  inquisitor  for  many  years.  The  martyrology  of  the 
provinces  reeks  with  his  murders.  He  burned  men  for  idle 
words  or  suspected  thoughts  ;  he  rarely  waited,  according  to 
his  frank  confession,  for  deeds.  Hearing  once  that  a  certain 
schoolmaster,  named  Geleyn  de  Muler,  of  Audenarde,  "was 
addicted  to  reading  the  Bible,"  he  summoned  the  culprit  be- 
fore him  and  accused  him  of  heresy.  The  schoolmaster 
claimed,  if  he  were  guilty  of  any  crime,  to  be  tried  before  the 
judges  of  his  town.  "  You  are  my  prisoner,"  said  Titelmann, 
"  and  are  to  answer  me  and  none  other."  The  inquisitor  pro- 
ceeded accordingly  to  catechize  liim,  and  soon  satisfied  himself 
of  the  schoolmaster's  heresy.  He  commanded  him  to  make 
immediate  recantation.  The  schoolmaster  refused.  "  Do  you 
not  love  your  wife  and  children  ?"  asked  the  demoniac  Titel- 
mann. "  God  knows,"  answered  the  heretic,  "  that  if  the 
whole  world  were  of  gold,  and  my  own,  I  would  give  it  all 
only  to  have  them  with  me,  even  had  I  to  live  on  bread  and 
water  and  in  bondage."  "  You  have  then,"  answered  the 
inquisitor,  "only  to  renounce  the  error  of  your  opinions." 
"  Neither  for  wife,  children,  nor  all  the  world,  can  I  renounce 
my  God  and  religious  truth,"  answered  the  prisoner.  There- 
upon Titelmann  sentenced  him  to  the  stake.  He  was  strangled 
and  then  thrown  into  the  flames."* 

At  about  the  same  time,  Thomas  Calberg,  tapestry  weaver, 
of  Tournay,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  same  inquisitor, 
was  convicted  of  having  copied  some  hymns  from  a  book 
printed  in  Geneva.  He  was  burned  alive.f  (Another  man, 
whose  name  has  perished,  was  hacked  to  death  with  seven 
blows  of  a  rusty  sword,  in  presence  of  his  wife,  who  was  so 
horror-stricken  that  she  died  on  the  spot  before  her  husband.  J 
His  crime,  to  be  sure,  was  anabaptism,  the  most  deadly  offence 
in  the  calendar.     In  the  same  year,  one  Walter  Kapell  was 


*  Hist,  des  Martyrs,  f.  227,  clxvii.,  apud  Brandt,  i.  168. 

f  Brandt,  i.  169 

t  Hist,  der  Doopsg.  Mart.,  p  229;  apud  Brandt,  L  167. 


334  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

burned  at  the  stake  for  heretical  opinions.*  He  was  a  man  of 
some  property,  and  beloved  by  the  poor  people  of  Dixmuyde,  in 
Flanders,  where  he  resided,  for  his  many  charities.  A  poor  idiot, 
who  had  been  often  fed  by  his  bounty,  called  out  to  the  inquis- 
itor's subalterns,  as  they  bound  his  patron  to  the  stake,  "  ye  are 
bloody  murderers  ;  that  man  has  done  no  wrong  ;  but  has 
given  me  bread  to  eat."  With  these  words,  he  cast  himself 
headlong  into  the  flames  to  perish  with  his  protector,  but  was  m 
with  difficulty  rescued  by  the  officers.f  A  day  or  two  after- 
wards, he  made  his  way  to  the  stake,  where  the  half-burnt 
skeleton  of  Walter  Kapell  still  remained,  took  the  body  upon 
his  shoulders,  and  carried  it  through  the  streets  to  the  house 
of  the  chief  burgomaster,  where  several  other  magistrates 
happened  then  to  be  in  session.  Forcing  his  way  into  their 
presence,  he  laid  his  burthen  at  their  feet,  crying,  "  There, 
murderers  !  ye  have  eaten  his  flesh,  now  eat  his  bones  !"$  It 
has  not  been  recorded  whether  Titelmann  sent  him  to  keep 
company  with  his  friend  in  the  next  world.  The  fate  of  so 
obscure  a  victim  could  hardly  find  room  on  the  crowded  pages 
of  the  Netherland  martyrdom. 

This  kind  of  work,  which  went  on  daily,  did  not  increase 
the  love  of  the  people  for  the  inquisition  or  the  edicts.  It 
terrified  many,  but  it  inspired  more  with  that  noble  resistance 
to  oppression,  particularly  to  religious  oppression,  which  is 
the  sublimest  instinct  of  human  nature.  Men  confronted 
the  terrible  inquisitors  with  a  courage  equal  to  their  cruelty. 
At  Tournay,  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  Titelmann's  district, 
and  almost  before  his  eyes,  one  Bertrand  le  Bias,  a  velvet 
manufacturer,  committed  what  was  held  an  almost  incredible 
crime.  Having  begged  his  wife  and  children  to  pray  for  a 
blessing  upon  what  he  was  about  to  undertake,  he  went  on 
Christmas -day  to  the  Cathedral  of  Tournay  and  stationed 
himself  near  the  altar.  Having  awaited  the  moment  in 
which  the  priest  held  on  high  the  consecrated  host,  Le  Bias 


*  Hist,  der  Doopsg.  Mart.,  229,  ii.  849,  apud  Brandt,  i.  167. 
f  Ibid,  X  Ibid. 


1561.]  E^iiRID    DEATH    OF   LE    BLAS.  335 

then  forced  his  way  through  the  crowd,  snatched  the  wafer 
from  the  hands  of  the  astonished  ecclesiastic,  and  broke  it  into 
bits,  crying  aloud,  as  he  did  so,  "  Misguided  men,  do  ye  take 
this  thing  to  be  Jesus  Christ,  your  Lord  and  Saviour  ?"  With 
these  words,  he  threw  the  fragments  on  the  ground  and  tram- 
pled them  with  his  feet.*  The  amazement  and  horror  were  so 
universal  at  such  an  appalling  offence,  that  not  a  ringer  was 
raised  to  arrest  the  criminal.  Priests  and  congregation  were 
alike  paralyzed,  so  that  he  would  have  found  no  difficulty  in 
making  his  escape.  He  did  not  stir,  however  ;  he  had  come  to 
the  church  determined  to  execute  what  he  considered  a  sacred 
duty,  and  to  abide  the  consequences.  After  a  time,  he  was 
apprehended.  The  inquisitor  demanded  if  he  repented  of  what 
he  had  done.  He  protested,  on  the  contrary,  that  he  gloried 
in  the  deed,  and  that  he  would  die  a  hundred  deaths  to  rescue 
from  such  daily  profanation  the  name  of  his  Kedeemer,  Christ. 
He  was  then  put  thrice  to  the  torture,  that  he  might  be  forced 
to  reveal  his  accomplices.  It  did  not  seem  in  human  power 
for  one  man  to  accomplish  such  a  deed  of  darkness  without 
confederates.  Bertrand  had  none,  however,  and  could  denounce 
none.  A  frantic  sentence  was  then  devised  as  a  feeble  punish- 
ment for  so  much  wickedness.  He  was  dragged  on  a  hurdle, 
with  his  mouth  closed  with  an  iron  gag,  to  the  market-place. 
Here  his  right  hand  and  foot  were  burned  and  twisted  off  be- 
tween two  red-hot  irons.     His  tongue  was  then  torn  out  by  the 


°  Histoire  des  Martyrs,  f.  356,  cxev. ;  apud  Brandt,  i.  171,  172.  It  may  be 
well  supposed  that  this  would  be  regarded  as  a  crime  of  almost  inconceivable 
magnitude.  It  was  death  even  to  refuse  to  kneel  in  the  streets  when  the  wafer 
was  carried  by.  Thus,  for  example,  a  poor  huckster,  named  Simon,  at  Bergen-op- 
Zoom,  who  neglected  to  prostrate  himself  before  his  booth  at  the  passage  of  the 
host,  was  immediately  burned.  Instances  of  the  same  punishment  for  that  of- 
fence might  be  multiplied.  In  this  particular  case,  it  is  recorded  that  the  sheriff 
who  was  present  at  the  execution  was  so  much  affected  by  the  courage  and 
fervor  of  the  simple-minded  victim,  that  he  went  home,  took  to  his  bed,  became 
delirious,  crying  constantly,  Ah,  Simon!  Simon!  and  died  miserably,  "notwith- 
standing all  that  the  monks  could  do  to  console  him." — Hist,  des  Doofeg.  Mart.  ii. 
849,  cexxx. ;  apud  Brandt,  i.  167. 


336  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1561. 

roots,  and  because  lie  still  endeavored  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
God,  the  iron  gag  was  again  applied.  With  his  arms  and  legs 
fastened  together  behind  his  back,  he  was  then  hooked  by  the 
middle  of  his  body  to  an  iron  chain,  and  made  to  swing  to  and 
fro  over  a  slow  fire  till  he  was  entirely  roasted.  His  life  lasted 
almost  to  the  end  of  these  ingenious  tortures,  but  his  fortitude 
lasted  as  long  as  his  life.* 

In  the  next  year,  Titelmann  caused  one  Robert  Ogier,  of 
Ryssel,  in  Flanders,  to  be  arrested,  together  with  his  wife  and 
two  sons.  Their  crime  consisted  in  not  going  to  mass,  and  in 
practising  private  worship  at  home.  They  confessed  the  offence, 
for  they  protested  that  they  could  not  endure  to  see  the  profa- 
nation of  their  Saviour's  name  in  the  idolatrous  sacraments. 
They  were  asked  what  rites  they  practised  in  their  own  house. 
One  of  the  sons,  a  mere  boy,  answered,  "  We  fall  on  our  knees, 
and  pray  to  God  that  he  may  enlighten  our  hearts,  and  forgive 
our  sins.  We  pray  for  our  sovereign,  that  his  reign  may  be 
prosperous,  and  his  life  peaceful.  We  also  pray  for  the  magis- 
trates and  others  in  authority,  that  God  may  protect  and 
preserve  them  all."  The  boy's  simple  eloquence  drew  tears 
even  from  the  eyes  of  some  of  his  judges  ;  for  the  inquisitor 
had  placed  the  case  before  the  civil  tribunal.  The  father  and 
eldest  son  were,  however,  condemned  to  the  flames.  "  Oh 
God  !"  prayed  the  youth  at  the  stake,  "Eternal  Father,  accept 
the  sacrifice  of  our  lives,  in  the  name  of  thy  beloved  Son." 
"  Thou  liest,  scoundrel  !"  fiercely  interrupted  a  monk,  who 
was  lighting  the  fire  ;  "  God  is  not  your  father  ;  ye  are  the 
devil's  children."  As  the  flames  rose  about  them,  the  boy 
cried  out  once  more,  "  Look,  my  father,  all  heaven  is  opening, 
and  I  see  ten  hundred  thousand  angels  rejoicing  over  us.  Let 
us  be  glad,  for  we  are  dying  for  the  truth."  "  Thou  liest  ! 
thou  liest  !"  again  screamed  the  monk  ;  "  all  hell  is  opening, 
and  you  see  ten  thousand  devils  thrusting  you  into  eternal 


s  Hist,  des  Martyrs,  356,  cxcv. ;  apud  Brandt,  i.  Ill,  172. — De  la  Barre.  Re- 
cueil  des  actes  et  choses  plus  notables  qui  sont  advenues  es  Pays  Bas. — MS.  in  the 
Brussels  Archives,  £  16. 


1562.]  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT.  337 

fire."  Eight  days  afterwards,  the  wife  of  Ogier  and  his  other 
son  were  burned  ;  so  that  there  was  an  end  of  that  family.* 

Such  are  a  few  isolated  specimens  of  the  manner  of  pro- 
ceeding in  a  single  district  of  the  Netherlands.  The  inquisitor 
Titelmann  certainly  deserved  his  terrible  reputation.  Men 
called  him  Saul  the  persecutor,  and  it  was  well  known  that 
he  had  been  originally  tainted  with  the  heresy  which  he 
had,  for  so  many  years,  been  furiously  chastising.f  At  the 
epoch  which  now  engages  our  attention,  he  felt  stimulated  by 
the  avowed  policy  of  the  government  to  fresh  exertions,  by 
which  all  his  previous  achievements  should  be  cast  into  the 
shade.  In  one  day  he  broke  into  a  house  in  Ryssel,  seized 
John  de  Swarte,  his  wife  and  four  children,  together  with  two 
newly-married  couples,  and  two  other  persons,  convicted  them 
of  reading  tho  Bible,  and  of  praying  in  their  own  doors,  and 
had  them  all  immediately  burned 4 

Are  these  things  related  merely  to  excite  superfluous  horror  ? 
Are  the  sufferings  of  these  obscure  Christians  beneath  the 
dignity  of  history  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  deal  with  murder  and 
oppression  in  the  abstract,  without  entering  into  trivial 
details  ?  The  answer  is,  that  these  things  are  the  history  of 
the  Netherlands  at  this  epoch ;  that  these  hideous  details 
furnish  the  causes  of  that  immense  movement,  out  of  which 
a  great  republic  was  born  and  an  ancient  tyranny  destroyed  ; 
and  that  Cardinal  Granvelle  was  ridiculous  when  he  as- 
serted that  the  people  would  not  open  their  mouths  if  the 
seigniors  did  not  make  such  a  noise.  Because  the  great 
lords  "  owed  their  very  souls"§ — because  convulsions  might 
help  to  pay  their  debts,  and  furnish  forth  their  masquerades 
and  banquets — because  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  ambitious, 
and  Egmont  jealous  of  the  Cardinal — therefore  superficial 
writers  found  it  quite  natural  that  the  country  should  be 
disturbed,  although  that  "  vile  and  mischievous  animal,  the 


*  Hist,  des  Martyrs,  385,  233,  387,  388;  apud  Brandt,  i.  193-197. 
f  Jacobus  Kok.  Vaderlandsche  Woordenboek,  t.  27  ;  art.  TitelmantL 
%  Brandt,  i.  259. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  51. — "  Deven  todos  el  alma" 
vol.  i.  22 


338  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

people,"  might  have  no  objection  to  a  continuance  of  the 
system  which  had  been  at  work  so  long.  On  the  contrary,  it 
was  exactly  because  the  movement  was  a  popular  and  a 
religious  movement  that  it  will  always  retain  its  place  among 
the  most  important  events  of  history.  Dignified  documents, 
state  papers,  solemn  treaties,  are  often  of  no  more  value  than 
the  lambskin  on  which  they  are  engrossed.  Ten  thousand 
nameless  victims,  in  the  cause  of  religious  and  civil  freedom, 
may  build  up  great  states  and  alter  the  aspect  of  whole 
continents. 

The  nobles,  no  doubt,  were  conspicuous,  and  it  was  well  for 
the  cause  of  the  right  that,  as  in  the  early  hours  of  English 
liberty,  the  crown  and  mitre  were  opposed  by  the  baron's 
sword  and  shield.  Had  all  the  seigniors  made  common  cause 
with  Philip  and  Granvelle,  instead  of  sotting  their  breasts 
against  the  inquisition,  the  cause  of  truth  and  liberty  would 
have  been  still  more  desperate.  Nevertheless  they  were 
directed  and  controlled,  under  Providence,  by  humbler,  but 
more  powerful  agencies  than  their  own.  The  nobles  were  but 
the  gilded  hands  on  the  outside  of  the  dial — the  hour  to  strike 
was  determined  by  the  obscure  but  weighty  movements  within. 

Nor  is  it,  perhaps,  always  better  to  rely  upon  abstract 
phraseology,  to  produce  a  necessary  impression.  Upon  some 
minds,  declamation  concerning  liberty  of  conscience  and 
religious  tyranny  makes  but  a  vague  impression,  while  an 
efFect  may  be  produced  upon  them,  for  example  by  a  dry, 
concrete,  cynical  entry  in  an  account  book,  such  as  the 
following,  taken  at  hazard  from  the  register  of  municipal 
expenses  at  Tournay,  during  the  years  with  which  we  are  now 
occupied  :* 

"  To  Mr.  Jacques  Barra,  executioner,  for  having  tortured, 
twice,  Jean  de  Lannoy,  ten  sous. 

"  To  the  same,  for  having  executed,  by  fire,  said  Lannoy, 
sixty  sous.  For  having  thrown  his  cinders  into  the  river, 
eight  sous."f 

°  Gachard.     Rapport  concernant  les  Archives  de  Lille,  87.  f  Ibid 


1562.]  DISTINCTION   WITHOUT   DIFFERENCE.  339 

This  was  the  treatment  to  which  thousands,  and  tens  of 
thousands,  had  been  subjected  in  the  provinces.  Men,  women, 
and  children  were  burned,  and  their  "  cinders"  thrown  away, 
for  idle  words  against  Eome,  spoken  years  before,*  for  praying 
alone  in  their  closets,  for  not  kneeling  to  a  wafer  when  they 
met  it  in  the  streets,f  for  thoughts  to  which  they  had  never 
given  utterance,  but  which,  on  inquiry,  they  were  too  honest 
to  deny.  Certainly  with  this  work  going  on  year  after  year  in 
every  city  in  the  Netherlands,  and  now  set  into  renewed  and 
vigorous  action  by  a  man  who  wore  a  crown  only  that  he 
might  the  better  torture  his  fellow-creatures,  it  was  time 
that  the  very  stones  in  the  streets  should  be  moved  to 
mutiny. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  of' how  much  value  were  the  protesta- 
tions of  Philip  and  of  Granvelle,  on  which  much  stress  has 
latterly  been  laid,  that  it  was  not  their  intention  to  introduce 
the  Spanish  inquisition.  With  the  edicts  and  the  Netherland 
inquisition,  such  as  we  have  described  them,  the  step  was 
hardly  necessary. 

In  fact,  the  main  difference  between  the  two  institutions 
consisted  in  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  Spanish  in  discovering 
such  of  its  victims  as  were  disposed  to  deny  their  faith. 
Devised  originally  for  more  timorous  and  less  conscientious 
infidels  who  were  often  disposed  to  skulk  in  obscure  places 
and  to  renounce  without  really  abandoning  their  errors,  it 
was  provided  with  a  set  of  venomous  familiars  who  glided 
through  every  chamber  and  coiled  themselves  at  every  fire- 
side. The  secret  details  of  each  household  in  the  realm 
being  therefore  known  to  the  holy  office  and  to  the  mon- 
arch, no  infidel  or  heretic  could  escape  discovery.  This 
invisible  machinery  was  less  requisite  for  the  Netherlands. 
There  was  comparatively  little  difficulty  in  ferreting  out  the 
"vermin"! — to  use  the  expression  of  a  Walloon  historian  of 
that  age — so  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  maintain  in  good 


*  Brandt,  i.  243.  f  Brandt,  i.  passim. 

X  Renom  de  France,  i.  13.     MS. 


340  THE    RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

■working  order  the  apparatus  for  destroying  the  noxious  crea- 
tures when  unearthed.  The  heretics  of  the  provinces  assembled 
at  each  other's  houses  to  practise  those  rites  described  in  such 
simple  language  by  Baldwin  Ogier,  and  denounced  under  such 
horrible  penalties  by  the  edicts.  The  inquisitorial  system  of 
Spain  was  hardly  necessary  for  men  who  had  but  little  pru- 
dence in  concealing,  and  no  inclination  to  disavow  their  creed. 
"It  is  quite  a  laughable  matter,"  wrote  Granvelle,  who  occa- 
sionally took  a  comic  view  of  the  inquisition,  "  that  the  King 
should  send  us  depositions  made  in  Spain  by  which  we  are  to 
hunt  for  heretics  here,  as  if  we  did  not  know  of  thousands 
already.  Would  that  I  had  as  many  doubloons  of  annual 
income,"  he  added,  "  as  there  are  public  and  professed  heretics 
in  the  provinces."0  No  doubt  the  inquisition  was  in  such 
eyes  a  most  desirable  establishment.  "  To  speak  without 
passion,"  says  the  Walloon,  "  the  inquisition  well  administered 
is  a  laudable  institution,  and  not  less  necessary  than  all 
the  other  offices  of  spirituality  and  temporality  belonging 
both  to  the  bishops  and  to  the  commissioners  of  the  Roman 
see."f  The  papal  and  episcopal  establishments,  in  co-operation 
with  the  edicts,  were  enough,  if  thoroughly  exercised  and 
completely  extended.  The  edicts  alone  were  sufficient.  "  The 
edicts  and  the  inquisition  arc  one  and  the  same  thing,"J  said 
the  Prince  of  Orange.  The  circumstance,  that  the  civil 
authorities  were  not  as  entirely  superseded  by  the  Nether- 
land,  as  by  the  Spanish  system,  was  rather  a  difference  of 
form  than  of  fact.  We  have  seen  that  the  secular  officers  of 
justice  were  at  the  command  of  the  inquisitors.  Sheriff, 
gaoler,  judge,  and  hangman,  were  all  required,  under  the  most 
terrible  penalties,  to  do  their  bidding.  The  reader  knows 
what  the  edicts  were.     He  knows  also  the  instructions  to  the 


*  "  Si  lo  osasse  dezir,  es  cosa  de  risa  embiarnoa  deposiciones  que  se  hazen  ay 

delante,  etc. y  tuviesse  yo  tantos  doblones  do  a  10  de  renta  como  los  hay  pub- 

licos  hereges,"  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  105—10*7. 

f  Renom  de  France,  i.  8.     MS. 

X  Groen  v.  P.  Archives  et  Correspondance,  iii.  29. 


1562,]  A   PITHY   QUERY.  341 

corps  of  papal  inquisitors,  delivered  by  Charles  and  Philip. 
He  knows  that  Philip,  both  in  person  and  by  letter,  had  done 
his  utmost  to  sharpen  those  instructions,  during  the  latter 
portion  of  his  sojourn  in  the  Netherlands.  Fourteen  new 
bishops,  each  with  two  special  inquisitors  under  him,  had  also 
been  appointed  to  carry  out  the  great  work  to  which  the 
sovereign  had  consecrated  his  existence.  The  manner  in 
which  the  hunters  of  heretics  performed  their  office  has  been 
exemplified  by  slightly  sketching  the  career  of  a  single  one  of 
the  sub-inquisitors,  Peter  Titelmann.  The  monarch  and  his 
minister  scarcely  needed,  therefore,  to  transplant  the  .penin- 
sular exotic.  "Why  should  they  do  so  ?  Philip,  who  did 
not  often  say  a  great  deal  in  a  few  words,  once  expressed 
the  whole  truth  of  the  matter  in  a  single  sentence  :  "  Where- 
fore introduce  the  Spanish  inquisition  ?"  said  he  ;  "  the  inqui- 
sition of  the  Netherlands  is  much  more  pitiless  than  that  of 
Spain."* 

Such  was  the  system  of  religious  persecution  commenced  bv 
Charles,  and  perfected  by  Philip.  The  King  could  not  claim 
the  merit  of  the  invention,  which  justly  belonged  to  the  Em- 
peror. At  the  same  time,  his  responsibility  for  the  unutterable 
woe  caused  by  the  continuance  of  the  scheme  is  not  a  jot 
diminished.  There  was  a  time  when  the  whole  system  had 
fallen  into  comparative  desuetude.  It  was  utterly  abhorrent 
to  the  institutions  and  the  manners  of  the  Netherlander., 
Even  a  great  number  of  the  Catholics  in  the  provinces  were 
averse  to  it.  Many  of  the  leading  grandees,  every  one  of 
whom  was  Catholic  were  foremost  in  denouncing  its  con- 
tinuance. In  short,  the  inquisition  had  been  partially  en- 
dured, but  never  accepted.  Moreover,  it  had  never  been 
introduced  into  Luxemburg  or  Groningen.f  In  Grelderland 
it  had  been  prohibited  by  the  treaty^  through  which  that 


*  "  D'ailleurs  requisition  des  Pays-Bas  est  plus  impitoyable  que  celle 
d'Espagne." — Letter  to  Margaret  of  Parma.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II, 
L  20?. 

f  Gachard.     Introduction  to  Philippe  II.,  i.  123,  iv.  |  Ibid. 


342  THE   EISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   KEPUBLIC.  [1562. 

province  had  been  annexed  to  the  emperor's  dominions,  and 
it  had  been  uniformly  and  successfully  resisted  in  Brabant. 
Therefore,  although  Philip,  taking  the  artful  advice  of  Gran- 
velle,  had  sheltered  himself  under  the  Emperor's  name  by 
re-enacting,  word  for  word,  his  decrees,  and  re-issuing  his 
instructions,  he  can  not  be  allowed  any  such  protection  at  the 
bar  of  history.  Such  a  defence  for  crimes  so  enormous  is 
worse  than  futile.  In  truth,  both  father  and  son  recognized 
instinctively  the  intimate  connexion  between  ideas  of  re- 
ligious and  of  civil  freedom.  "  The  authority  of  God  and 
the  supremacy  of  his  Majesty"  was  the  formula  used  with 
perpetual  iteration  to  sanction  the  constant  recourse  to  scaffold 
and  funeral  pile.  Philip,  bigoted  in  religion,  and  fanatical  in 
his  creed  of  the  absolute  power  of  kings,  identified  himself 
willingly  with  the  Deity,  that  he  might  more  easily  punish 
crimes  against  his  own  sacred  person.  Granvelle  carefully 
sustained  him  in  these  convictions,  and  fed  his  suspicions  as 
to  the  motives  of  those  who  opposed  his  measures.  The 
minister  constantly  represented  the  great  seigniors  as  influ- 
enced by  ambition  and  pride.  They  had  only  disapproved  of 
the  new  bishoprics,  he  insinuated,  because  they  were  angiy 
that  his  Majesty  should  dare  to  do  any  thing  without  their 
concurrence,  and  because  their  own  influence  in  the  states 
would  be  diminished.  It  was  their  object,  he  said,  to  keer> 
the  King  "  in  tutelage" — to  make  him  a  "  shadow  and  a 
cipher,"  while  they  should  themselves  exercise  all  authority 
in  the  provinces.  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  effect  of 
such  suggestions  upon  the  dull  and  gloomy  mind  to  which 
they  were  addressed.  It  is  easy,  however,  to  see  that  a 
minister  with  such  views  was  likely  to  be  as  congenial  to 
his  master  as  he  was  odious  to  the  people.  For  already,  in 
the  beginning  of  1562,  Granvelle  was  extremely  unpopular. 
"The  Cardinal  is  hated  of  all  men,"  wrote  Sir  Thomas 
Gresham.*      The  great  struggle  between  him  and  the  lead- 


*  Burgon,  ii.  267. 


1562.]  OBSTINACY   OF   THE   HERETICS.  343 

ing  nobles  had  already  commenced.  The  people  justly  iden- 
tified him  with  the  whole  infamous  machinery  of  persecu- 
tion, which  he  had  either  originated  or  warmly  made  his 
own.  Viglius  and  Berlaymont  were  his  creatures.  With 
the  other  members  of  the  state  council,  according  to  their 
solemn  statement,  already  recorded,  he  did  not  deign  to 
consult,  while  he  affected  to  hold  them  responsible  for  the 
measures  of  the  administration.  Even  the  Kegent  herself 
complained  that  the  Cardinal  took  affairs  quite  out  of  her 
hands,  and  that  he  decided  upon  many  important  matters 
without  her  cognizance.*  She  already  began  to  feel  herself 
the  puppet  which  it  had  been  intended  she  should  become  ; 
she  already  felt  a  diminution  of  the  respectful  attachment  for 
the  ecclesiastic  which  had  inspired  her  when  she  procured  his 
red  hat. 

Granvelle  was,  however,  most  resolute  in  carrying  out  the 
intentions  of  his  master.  We  have  seen  how  vigorously  he 
had  already  set  himself  to  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
bishoprics,  despite  of  opposition  and  obloquy.  He  was  now 
encouraging  or  rebuking  the  inquisitors  in  their  "  pious  office" 
throughout  all  the  provinces.  Notwithstanding  his  exertions, 
however,  heresy  continued  to  spread.  In  the  Walloon 
provinces  the  infection  was  most  prevalent,  while  judges  and 
executioners  were  appalled  by  the  mutinous  demonstrations 
which  each  successive  sacrifice  provoked.  The  victims  were 
cheered  on  their  way  to  the  scaffold.  The  hymns  of  Marot 
were  sung  in  the  \ery  faces  of  the  inquisitors.  Two  ministers, 
Faveau  and  Mallart,  were  particularly  conspicuous  at  this 
moment  at  Valenciennes.  The  governor  of  the  province, 
Marquis  Berghen,  was  constantly  absent,  for  he  hated  with 
his  whole  soul  the  system  of  persecution.  For  this  negligence 
G-ranvelle  denounced  him  secretly  and  perpetually  to  Philip.f 
"  The  Marquis  says  openly,"  said  the  Cardinal,  "  that  'tis  not 
right  to  shed  blood  for  matters  of  faith.     With  such  men  to 


»  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  543-545.  f  Dom  l'Evesque.     Memoires,  i.  302-308. 


344  THE   RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562, 

aid  us,  your  Majesty  can  judge  how  much  progress  we  can 
make."*  It  was,  however,  important,  in  Granvelle's  opinion, 
that  these  two  ministers  at  Valenciennes  should  be  at  once 
put  to  death.  They  were  avowed  heretics,  and  they  preached 
to  their  disciples,  although  they  certainly  were  not  doctors  of 
divinity.  Moreover,  they  were  accused,  most  absurdly,  no 
doubt,  of  pretending  to  work  miracles.  It  was  said  that,  in 
presence  of  several  witnesses,  they  had  undertaken  to  cast  out 
devils  ;  and  they  had  been  apprehended  on  an  accusation  of 
this  nature.^  Their  offence  really  consisted  in  reading  the 
Bible  to  a  few  of  their  friends.  Granvelle  sent  Philibert 
de  Bruxelles  to  Valenciennes  to  procure  their  immediate  con- 
demnation and  execution. £  He  rebuked  the  judges  and  in- 
quisitors, he  sent  express  orders  to  Marquis  Berghen  to 
repair  at  once  to  the  scene  of  his  duties.  The  prisoners  were 
condemned  in  the  autumn  of  1561.  The  magistrates  were, 
however,  afraid  to  carry  the  sentence  into  effect.§  Granvelle 
did  not  cease  to  censure  them  for  their  pusillanimity,  and 
wrote  almost  daily  letters,  accusing  the  magistrates  of  being 
themselves  the  cause  of  the  tumults  by  which  they  were 
appalled.  The  popular  commotion  was,  however,  not  lightly 
to  be  braved.  Six  or  seven  months  long  the  culprits  remained 
in  confinement,  while  daily  and  nightly  the  people  crowded 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  75. 

f  "Histoire  des  choses  les  plus  memorables  qui  se  sont  passees  en  la  ville  et 
Compte  de  Valenciennes  depuis  le  commencement  des  troubles  des  Pays-Bas  sous 
le  regne  de  Phil.  II.,  jusqu'  a  l'anne'e  1621." — MS.  (Collect.  Gerard). 

This  is  a  contemporary  manuscript  belonging  to  the  Gerard  collection  in  the 
Royal  Library  at  the  Hague.  Its  author  was  a  citizen  of  Valenciennes,  and  a 
personal  witness  of  most  of  the  events  which  he  describes.  He  appears  to  have 
attained  to  a  great  age,  as  he  minutely  narrates,  from  personal  observation, 
many  scenes  which  occurred  before  1566,  and  his  work  is  continued  till  the 
year  1621.  It  is  a  mere  sketch,  without  much  literary  merit,  but  containing 
many  local  anecdotes  of  interest.  Its  anonymous  author  was  a  very  sincere 
Catholic. 

X  Dom  l'Evesque,  i.  302-308.  §  Ibid.     Valenciennes  MS. 


1562.]  THE   BADLY-BURNED.  345 

the  streets,  hurling  threats  and  defiance  at  the  authorities,  or 
pressed  about  the  prison  windows,  encouraging  their  beloved 
ministers,  and  promising  to  rescue  them  in  case  the  attempt 
should  be  made  to  fulfil  the  sentence.*  At  last  Granvelle 
sent  down  a  peremptory  order  to  execute  the  culprits  by  fire. 
On  the  27th  of  April,  1562,  Faveau  and  Mallart  were  accord- 
ingly taken  from  their  jail  and  carried  to  the  market-place, 
where  arrangements  had  been  made  for  burning  them.  Simon 
Faveau,  as  the  executioner  was  binding  him  to  the  stake, 
uttered  the  invocation,  "  0  !  Eternal  Father  !"f  A  woman  in 
the  crowd,  at  the  same  instant,  took  off  her  shoe  and  threw  it 
at  the  funeral  pile4  This  was  a  preconcerted  signal.  A 
movement  was  at  once  visible  in  the  crowd.  Men  in  great 
numbers  dashed  upon  the  barriers  which  had  been  erected  in 
the  square  around  the  place  of  execution.  Some  seized  the 
fagots,  which  had  been  already  lighted,  and  scattered  them  in 
every  direction ;  some  tore  up  the  pavements  ;  others  broke 
in  pieces  the  barriers.  The  executioners  were  prevented  from 
carrying  out  the  sentence,  but  the  guard  were  enabled,  with 
great  celerity  and  determination,  to  bring  off  the  culprits  and 
to  place  them  in  their  dungeon  again.  The  authorities  were 
in  doubt  and  dismay.  The  inquisitors  were  for  putting  the 
ministers  to  death  in  prison,  and  hurling  their  heads  upon 
the  street.  Evening  approached  while  the  officials  were  still 
pondering.  The  people  who  had  been  chanting  the  Psalms 
of  David  through  the  town,  without  having  decided  what 
should  be  their  course  of  action,  at  last  determined  to  rescue 
the  victims.  A  vast  throng,  after  much  hesitation,  accord- 
ingly directed  their  steps  to  the  prison.  "  You  should  have 
seen  this  vile  populace,"  says  an  eye-witness,§  "moving,  paus- 
ing, recoiling,  sweeping  forward,  swaying  to  and  fro  like 
the  waves  of  the  sea  when  it  is  agitated  by  contending 
winds."     The  attack  was  vigorous,  the  defence  was  weak — for 


*  Dom  l'Evesque,  i.  302-303.     Valenciennes  MS.  t  Ibici- 

\  Valenciennes  MS.  §  Va\du 


346  THE   EISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

the  authorities  had  expected  no  such  fierce  demonstration,  not- 
withstanding the  menacing  language  which  had  been  so  often 
uttered.  The  prisoners  were  rescued,  and  succeeded  in  making 
their  escape  from  the  city.  The  day  in  which  the  execution 
had  been  thus  prevented  was  called,  thenceforward,  the  "  day 
of  the  ill-burned,"  *  (Journee  des  mau-brulez).  One  of  the 
ministers,  however,  Simon  Faveau,  not  discouraged  by  this 
near  approach  to  martyrdom,  persisted  in  his  heretical  labors, 
and  was  a  few  years  afterwards  again  apprehended.  "He 
was  then,"  says  the  chronicler,  cheerfully,  "  burned  well 
and  finally"  in  the  same  place  whence  he  had  formerly  been 
rescued.^ 

This  desperate  resistance  to  tyranny  was  for  a  moment 
successful,  because,  notwithstanding  the  murmurs  and  menaces 
by  which  the  storm  had  been  preceded,  the  authorities  had 
not  believed  the  people  capable  of  proceeding  to  such  lengths. 
Had  not  the  heretics — in  the  words  of  Inquisitor  Titelmann 
—allowed  themselves,  year  after  year,  to  be  taken  and 
slaughtered  like  lambs  ?  The  consternation  of  the  magis- 
trates was  soon  succeeded  by  anger.  The  government  at 
Brussels  was  in  a  frenzy  of  rage  when  informed  of  the  occur- 
rence. A  bloody  vengeance  was  instantly  prepared,  to  vin- 
dicate the  insult  to  the  inquisition.  On  the  29th  of  April,  de- 
tachments of  Bossu's  and  of  Berghen's  '  band  of  ordonnance" 
were  sent  into  Valenciennes,  together  with  a  company  of  the 
Duke  of  Aerschot's  regiment.  The  prisons  were  instantly 
filled  to  overflowing  with  men  and  women  arrested  for  actual 
or  suspected  participation  in  the  tumult.  Orders  had  been 
sent  down  from  the  capital  to  make  a  short  process  and  a 
sharp  execution  for  all  the  criminals.  On  the  16th  of  May, 
the  slaughter  commenced.     Some  were  burned  at  the  stake, 


*  Valenciennes  MS. 

f  "Le  28  Mars,  1568.  Simon  Faveau  qui  avait  este  un  des  'mau-brulez,'' 
ayant  este  rattrappe  fust  brule  Men  et  beau  a  Valentiennes." — Valenciennes 
MS. 


1562.]  RHETORIC   AGAINST    TYRANNY.  347 

some  were  beheaded  :  the  number  of  victims  "was  frightful. 
"  Nothing  was  left  undone  by  the  magistrates,"  says  an  eye- 
witness, with  great  approbation,  "  which  could  serve  for  the 
correction  and  amendment  of  the  poor  people."*  It  was  long 
before  the  judges  and  hangmen  rested  from  their  labors. 
When  at  last  the  havoc  was  complete,  it  might  be  supposed 
that  a  sufficient  vengeance  had  been  taken  for  the  "  day  of  the 
ill-burned,"  and  an  adequate  amount  of  "amendment"  pro- 
vided for  the  "  poor  people." 

Such  scenes  as  these  did  not  tend  to  increase  the  loyalty  of 
the  nation,  nor  the  popularity  of  the  government.  On  Gran- 
velle's  head  was  poured  a  daily  increasing  torrent  of  hatred. 
He  was  looked  upon  in  the  provinces  as  the  impersonation  of 
that  religious  oppression  which  became  every  moment  more 
intolerable.  The  King  and  the  Eegent  escaped  much  of  the 
odium  which  belonged  to  them,  because  the  people  chose 
to  bestow  all  their  maledictions  upon  the  Cardinal.  There 
was,  however,  no  great  injustice  in  this  embodiment.  Gran- 
velle  was  the  government.  As  the  people  of  that  day  were 
extremely  reverent  to  royalty,  they  vented  all  their  rage  upon 
the  minister,  while  maintaining  still  a  conventional  respect 
for  the  sovereign.  The  prelate  had  already  become  the 
constant  butt  of  the  "  Rhetoric  Chambers."  These  popular 
clubs  for  the  manufacture  of  homespun  poetry  and  street 
farces  out  of  the  raw  material  of  public  sentiment,  occupied 
the  place  which  has  been  more  effectively  filled  in  succeed- 
ing ages,  and  in  free  countries  by  the  daily  press.  Before 
the  invention  of  that  most  tremendous  weapon,  which  liberty 
has  ever  wielded  against  tyranny,  these  humble  but  influential 
associations  shared  with  the  pulpit  the  only  power  which 
existed  of  moving  the  passions  or  directing  the  opinions  of 
the  people.  They  were  eminently  liberal  in  their  tendencies. 
The  authors  and  the  actors  of  their  comedies,  poems,  and 
pasquils  were  mostly  artisans  or  tradesmen,  belonging  to  the 


c  Valenciennes  MS. 


348  THE    EISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   KEPUBLIC.  [1562. 

class  out  of  which  proceeded  the  early  victims,  and  the  later 
soldiers  of  the  Reformation.  Their  bold  farces  and  truculent 
satire  had  already  effected  much  in  spreading  among  the 
people  a  detestation  of  Church  abuses.  They  were  particu- 
larly severe  upon  monastic  licentiousness.  "  These  corrupt 
comedians,  called  rhetoricians,"  says  the  Walloon  contem- 
porary already  cited,  "afforded  much  amusement  to  the 
people.  Always  some  poor  little  nuns  or  honest  monks  were 
made  a  part  of  the  farce.  It  seemed  as  if  the  people  could 
take  no  pleasure  except  in  ridiculing  God  and  the  Church."* 
The  people,  however,  persisted  in  the  opinion  that  the  ideas 
of  a  monk  and  of  God  were  not  inseparable.  Certainly  the 
piety  of  the  early  reformers  was  sufficiently  fervent,  and  had 
been  proved  by  the  steadiness  with  which  they  confronted 
torture  and  death,  but  they  knew  no  measure  in  the  ridicule 
which  they  heaped  upon  the  men  by  whom  they  were  daily 
murdered  in  droves.  The  rhetoric  comedies  were  not  admir- 
able in  an  aesthetic  point  of  view,  but  they  were  wrathful 
and  sincere.  Therefore  they  cost  many  thousand  lives,  but 
they  sowed  the  seed  of  resistance  to  religious  tyranny,  to 
spring  up  one  day  in  a  hundredfold  harvest.  It  was  natural 
that  the  authorities  should  have  long  sought  to  suppress 
these  perambulating  dramas.  "  There  was  at  that  tyme," 
wrote  honest  Richard  Clough  to  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  "syche 
playes  (of  Reteryke)  played  thet  hath  cost  many  a  1000 
man's  lyves,  for  in  these  plays  was  the  Word  of  God  first 
opened  in  thys  countiy.  Weche  playes  were  and  are  for- 
bidden moche  more  strictly  than  any  of  the  bookes  of  Martin 
Luther."f 

These  rhetoricians  were  now  particularly  inflamed  against 
Grranvelle.  They  were  personally  excited  against  him,  because 
he  had  procured  the  suppression  of  their  religious  dramas. 
11  These  rhetoricians  who  make  farces  and  street  plays,"  wrote 


*  Eenom  de  France  MS.,  i.  c.  5.  \  Burgon,  i.  377-391. 


1562.]  TRAGEDY   AND   FARCE.  349 

the  Cardinal  to  Philip,  "  are  particularly  angry  with  rne,  be- 
cause two  years  ago  I  prevented  them  from  ridiculing  the  holy 
Scriptures.''*  Nevertheless,  these  institutions  continued  to 
pursue  their  opposition  to  the  course  of  the  government.  Their 
uncouth  gambols,  their  awkward  but  stunning  blows  rendered 
daily  service  to  the  cause  of  religious  freedom.  Upon  the 
newly-appointed  bishopsf  they  poured  out  an  endless  succes- 
sion of  rhymes  and  rebuses,  epigrams,  caricatures  and  extrav- 
aganzas. Poems  were  pasted  upon  the  walls  of  every  house, 
and  passed  from  hand  to  hand.  Farces  were  enacted  in  even- 
street  ;  the  odious  ecclesiastics  figuring  as  the  principal 
buffoons.  These  representations  gave  so  much  offence,  that 
renewed  edicts  were  issued  to  suppress  them.+  The  prohibi- 
tion was  resisted,  and  even  ridiculed  in  many  provinces,  partic- 
ularly in  Holland. §  The  tyranny  which  was  able  to  drown 
a  nation  in  blood  and  tears,  was  powerless  to  prevent  them 
from  laughing  most  bitterly  at  their  oppressors.  The  tanner, 
Cleon,  was  never  belabored  more  soundly  by  the  wits  of 
Athens,  than  the  prelate  by  these  Flemish  "  rhetoricians." 
"With  infinitely  less  Attic  salt,  but  with  as  much  heartiness  as 
Aristophanes  could  have  done,  the  popular  rhymers  gave  the 
minister  ample  opportunity  to  understand  the  position  which 
he  occupied  in  the  Netherlands.  One  day  a  petitioner  placed 
a  paper  in  his  hand  and  vanished.  It  contained  some  scur- 
rilous verses  upon  himself,  together  with  a  caricature  of  his 
person.  In  this  he  was  represented  as  a  hen  seated  upon  a 
pile  of  eggs,  out  of  which  he  was  hatching  a  brood  of  bishops. 
Some  of  these  were  clipping  the  shell,  some  thrusting  forth 
an  arm,  some  a  leg,  while  others  were  running  about  with 
mitres  on  their  heads,  all  bearing  whimsical  resemblance  to 
various  prelates  who  had  been  newly-appointed.  Above  the 
Cardinal's   head   the    Devil  was    represented   hovering,  with 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552—562.  t  Hoofd,  i  38 

$  Report,  der  Tlakaten.  bl.  96.     "Wagenaer,  vi  76. 
p  Wagenaer.  vi.  70,  sqq. 


350  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

these  words   issuing  from  his  mouth :  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  listen  to  him;  my  people."* 

There  was  another  lampoon  of  a  similar  nature,  which  was 
so  well  executed,  that  it  especially  excited  G-ranvelle's  anger. 
It  was  a  rhymed  satire  of  a  general  nature,  like  the  rest,  but 
so  delicate  and  so  stinging,  that  the  Cardinal  ascribed  it  to  his 
old  friend  and  present  enemy,  Simon  Renard.  This  man,  a 
Burgundian  by  birth,  and  college  associate  of  Granvelle,  had 
been  befriended  both  by  himself  and  his  father.f  Aided  by 
their  patronage  and  his  own  abilities,  he  had  arrived  at  dis- 
tinguished posts ;  having  been  Spanish  envoy  both  in  France 
and  England,  and  one  of  the  negotiators  of  the  truce  of 
Vaucelles.  He  had  latterly  been  disappointed  in  his  ambition 
to  become  a  councillor  of  state,  and  had  vowed  vengeance  upon 
the  Cardinal,  to  whom  he  attributed  his  ill  success.  He 
was  certainly  guilty  of  much  ingratitude,  for  he  had  been 
under  early  obligations  to  the  man  in  whose  side  he  now  became 
a  perpetual  thorn.  J  It  must  be  confessed,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  Granvelle  repaid  the  enmity  of  his  old  associate  with  a 
malevolence  equal  to  his  own,  and  if  Eenard  did  not  lose  his 
head  as  well  as  his  political  station,  it  was  not  for  want  of 
sufficient  insinuation  on  the  part  of  the  minister.  §  Especially 
did  Granvelle  denounce  him  to  "  the  master"  as  the  perverter 
of  Egmont,  while  he  usually  described  that  nobleman  himself, 
as  weak,  vain,  "  a  friend  of  smoke," | J  easily  misguided,  but  in 
the  main  well-intentioned  and  loyal.  At  the  same  time,  with 
all  these  vague  commendations,  he  never  omitted  to  supply 
the  suspicious  King  with  an  account  of  every  fact  or  every 
rumor  to  the  Count's  discredit.  In  the  case  of  this  partic- 
ular satire,  he  informed  Philip  that  he  could  swear  it  came 


*  "Hie  est  filius  mens,  ilium  audite,"  etc. — Hoofd,  ii.  42. 
f  Groen   v.   Prinsterer.     Archives  et   Correspondance,   i.    177*    sqq.      Dom 
l'Evesque.     Memoires,  etc.,  i.  97,  sqq.  %  Dom  l'Evesque,  ubi  sup. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  568,  569,  552-562. 
U   "  Es  amigo  de  humo.-' — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  115. 


3562L]  CUNNING    RENARD.  353 

from  the  pen  of  Kenard,  although,  for  the  sake  of  deception, 
the  rhetoric  comedians  had  been  employed.*  He  described 
the  production  as  filled  with  "  false,  abominable,  and  infernal 
things,"f  and  as  treating  not  only  himself,  but  the  Pope 
and  the  whole  ecclesiastical  order  with  as  much  contumely 
as  could  be  showed  in  Germany.  He  then  proceeded  to  in- 
sinuate, in  the  subtle  manner  which  was  peculiarly  his  own, 
that  Egmont  was  a  party  to  the  publication  of  the  pasquil 
Renard  visited  at  that  house,  he  said,  and  was  received  there 
on  a  much  more  intimate  footing  than  was  becoming. 
Eight  days  before  the  satire  was  circulated,  there  had  been  a 
conversation  in  Egmont's  house,  of  a  nature  exactly  similar  to 
the  substance  of  the  pamphlet.  The  man  in  whose  hands  it 
was  first  seen,  continued  Granvelle,  was  a  sword  cutler,  a  god- 
son of  the  Count.!  This  person  said  that  he  had  torn  it  from 
the  gate  of  the  city  hall,  but  God  grant,  prayed  the  Cardinal, 
that  it  was  not  he  who  had  first  posted  it  up  there.  'Tis  said 
that  Egmont  and  Mansfcld,  he  added,  have  sent  many  times 
to  the  cutler  to  procure  copies  of  the  satire,  all  which  aug- 
ments the  suspicion  against  them.§ 

With  the  nobles  he  was  on  no  better  terms  than  with  the 
people.  The  great  seigniors,  Orange,  Egmont,  Horn,  and 
others,  openly  avowed  their  hostility  to  him,  and  had  already 
given  their  reasons  to  the  King.  Mansfeld  and  his  son  at 
that  time  were  both  with  the  opposition.  Aerschot  and 
Aremberg  kept  aloof  from  the  league  which  was  forming 
against  the  prelate,  but  had  small  sympathy  for  Ins  person. 
Even  Berlaymont  began  to  listen  to  overtures  from  the  lead- 
ing nobles,  who,  among  other  inducements,  promised  to  supply 
his  children  with  bishoprics.  There  were  none  truly  faithfu] 
and  submissive  to  the  Cardinal  but  such  men  as  the  Prevot 
Morillon,  who  had   received   much   advancement  from   him, 


0  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562. 

\  "  Cosas  falsas,  abominables  y  infernales." — Ibid. 

%  "Un  espadero  ahijado  de  Mr.  d'Egmont,"  etc. — Ibid. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi  552-562. 


352  THE   BISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

This  distinguished  pluralist  was  popularly  called  "  double  A, 
B,  C,"  to  indicate  that  he  had  twice  as  many  benefices  as 
there  were  letters  in  the  alphabet.*  He  had,  however,  no  ob- 
jection to  more,  and  was  faithful  to  the  dispensing  power. 
The  same  course  was  pursued  by  Secretary  Bave,  Esquire 
Bordey,  and  other  expectants  and  dependents.  Viglius, 
always  remarkable  for  his  pusillanimity,  was  at  this  period 
already  anxious  to  retire.  The  erudite  and  opulent  Frisian  , 
preferred  a  less  tempestuous  career.  He  was  in  favor  of  the 
edicts,  but  he  trembled  at  the  uproar  which  their  literal 
execution  was  daily  exciting,  for  he  knew  the  temper  of  his 
countrymen.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  too  sagacious  not  to 
know  the  inevitable  consequence  of  opposition  to  the  will  of 
Philip.  He  was  therefore  most  eager  to  escape  the  dilemma. 
He  was  a  scholar,  and  could  find  more  agreeable  employment 
among  his  books.  He  had  accumulated  vast  wealth,  and  was 
desirous  to  retain  it  as  long  as  possible.  He  had  a  learned 
head  and  was  anxious  to  keep  it  upon  his  shoulders.  These 
simple  objects  could  be  better  attained  in  a  life  of  privacy. 
The  post  of  president  of  the  privy  council  and  member  of  the 
"  Consulta"  was  a  dangerous  one.  He  knew  that  the  King 
was  sincere  in  his  purposes.  He  foresaw  that  the  people 
would  one  day  be  terribly  in  earnest.  Of  ancient  Frisian 
blood  himself,  he  knew  that  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  Batavians 
and  Frisians  had  not  wholly  deserted  their  descendants.  He 
knew  that  they  were  not  easily  roused,  that  they  were 
patient,  but  that  they  would  strike  at  last  and  would  endure. 
He  urgently  solicited  the  King  to  release  him,  and  pleaded 
his  infirmities  of  body  in  excuse.f  Philip,  however,  would 
not  listen  to  his  retirement,  and  made  use  of  the  most  con- 
vincing arguments  to  induce  him  to  remain.  Four  hundred 
and  fifty  annual  florins,  secured  by  good  reclaimed  swamps  in 
Fricsland,  two  thousand  more  in  hand,  with  a  promise  of  still 


*  Letter  of  Duchess  of  Parma  to  Philip. — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i. 
313-320. 

f  Vit.  Viglii,  lxxvi.  p.  3G. 


1562.]  THE    QUARREL   GROWS   HOTTER.  353 

larger  emoluments  when  the  King  should  come  to  the  Neth- 
erlands, were  reasons  which  the  learned  doctor  honestly  con- 
fessed himself  unable  to  resist.*  Fortified  by  these  argu- 
ments, he  remained  at  his  post,  continued  the  avowed  friend 
and  adherent  of  Granvelle,  and  sustained  with  magnanimity 
the  invectives  of  nobles  and  people.  To  do  him  justice,  he  did 
what  he  could  to  conciliate  antagonists  and  to  compromise 
principles.  If  it  had  ever  been  possible  to  find  the  exact 
path  between  right  and  wrong,  the  President  would  have 
found  it,  and  walked  in  it  with  respectability  and  com- 
placency. 

In  the  council,  however,  the  Cardinal  continued  to  carry  it 
with  a  high  hand  ;  turning  his  back  on  Orange  and  Egmont, 
and  retiring  with  the  Duchess  and  President  to  consult,  after 
every  session.  Proud  and  important  personages,  like  the 
Prince  and  Count,  could  ill  brook  such  insolence  ;  moreover, 
they  suspected  the  Cardinal  of  prejudicing  the  mind  of  their 
sovereign  against  them.  A  report  was  very  current,  and 
obtained  almost  universal  belief,  that  Granvelle  had  expressly 
advised  his  Majesty  to  take  off  the  heads  of  at  least  half  a 
dozen  of  the  principal  nobles  in  the  land.  This  was  an  error  ; 
"  These  two  seigniors,"  wrote  the  Cardinal  to  Philip,  "  have 
been  informed  that  I  have  written  to  your  Majesty,  that 
you  will  never  be  master  of  these  provinces  without  taking 
off  at  least  half  a  dozen  heads,  and  that  because  it  would  be 
difficult,  on  account  of  the  probable  tumults  which  such  a 
course  would  occasion,  to  do  it  here,  your  Majesty  means  to 
call  them  to  Spain  and  do  it  there.  Your  Majesty  can  judge 
whether  such  a  thing  has  ever  entered  my  thoughts.  I  have 
laughed  at  it  as  a  ridiculous  invention.  This  gross  forgery 
is  one  of  Kenard's."t  The  Cardinal  further  stated  to  his 
Majesty  that  he  had  been   informed  by  these  same  nobles 


*  Vit.  Viglii,  Ixxvi.  p.  36. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  568,  569.— Compare  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  L 
202,  203. 

vol.  i.  23 


354  THE   KISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [15G2. 

that  the  Duke  of  Alva,  when  a  hostage  for  the  treaty  of 
Cateau  Cambresis,  had  negotiated  an  alliance  between  the 
crowns  of  France  and  Spain  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy 
by  the  sword.  He  added,  that  he  intended  to  deal  with 
the  nobles  with  all  gentleness,  and  that  he  should  do  his 
best  to  please  them.  The  only  thing  which  he  could  not 
yield  was  the  authority  of  his  Majesty  ;  to  sustain  that,  he 
would  sacrifice  his  life,  if  necessary.*  At  the  same  time 
Granvelle  carefully  impressed  upon  the  King  the  necessity  of 
contradicting  the  report  alluded  to,  a  request  which  he  took 
care  should  also  be  made  through  the  Kegent  in  person.f  He 
had  already,  both  in  his  own  person  and  in  that  of  the  Duchess, 
begged  for  a  formal  denial,  on  the  King's  part,  that  there  was 
any  intention  of  introducing  the  Spanish  inquisition  into  the 
Netherlands,  and  that  the  Cardinal  had  counselled,  originally, 
the  bishoprics.^  Thus  instructed,  the  King  accordingly  wrote 
to  Margaret  of  Parma  to  furnish  the  required  contradictions. 
In  so  doing,  he  made  a  pithy  remark.  "  The  Cardinal  had 
not  counselled  the  cutting  off  the  half  a  dozen  heads,"  said 
the  monarch,  "  but  perhaps  it  would  not  be  so  bad  to  do  it!"§ 
Time  was  to  show  whether  Philip  was  likely  to  profit  by  the 
hint  conveyed  in  the  Cardinal's  disclaimer,  and  whether  the 
factor  "  half  dozen"  were  to  be  used  or  not  as  a  simple  multi- 
plier in  the  terrible  account  preparing. 

The  contradictions,  however  sincere,  were  not  believed  by 
the  persons  most  interested.  Nearly  all  the  nobles  continued 
to  regard  the  Cardinal  with  suspicion  and  aversion.  Many 
of  the  ruder  and  more  reckless  class  vied  with  the  rheto- 
ricians and  popular  caricaturists  in  the  practical  jests  which 
they  played  off  almost  daily  against  the  common  foe.  Espe- 
cially   Count    Brederode,   "a   madman,   if  there  ever  were 


*  Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  204,  205. 

t  Ibid.,  i.  202,  203.  %  Ibid.,  i.  202,  207". 

§  "Aunque  auiza  no  seria  mal  hazello." — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II. 

207. 


1562.]  a  wild  boar's  pleasantry.  355 

one/'*  as  a  contemporary  expressed  himself,  was  most  untiring 
in  his  efforts  to  make  Granvelle  ridiculous.  He  went  almost 
nightly  to  masquerades,  dressed  as  a  cardinal  or  a  monk  ;f  and 
as  he  was  rarely  known  to  be  sober  on  these  or  any  other 
occasions,  the  wildness  of  his  demonstrations  may  easily  be 
imagined.  He  was  seconded  on  all  these  occasions  by  his 
cousin  Robert  de  la  Marck,  Seigneur  de  Lumey,  a  worthy 
descendant  of  the  famous  "  Wild  Boar  of  Ardennes  ;"  a  man 
brave  to  temerity,  but  utterly  depraved,  licentious,  and  san- 
guinary. These  two  men,  both  to  be  widely  notorious,  from 
their  prominence  in  many  of  the  most  striking  scenes  by  which 
the  great  revolt  was  ushered  in,  had  vowed  the  most  deter- 
mined animosity  to  the  Cardinal,  which  was  manifested  in  the 
reckless,  buffooning  way  which  belonged  to  their  characters. 
Besides  the  ecclesiastical  costumes  in  which  they  always 
attired  themselves  at  their  frequent  festivities,  they  also  wore 
fox-tails  in  their  hats  instead  of  plumes. £  They  decked  their 
servants  also  with  the  same  ornaments  ;  openly  stating,  that 
by  these  symbols  they  meant  to  signify  that  the  old  fox 
Granvelle,  and  his  cubs,  Viglius,  Berlaymont,  and  the  rest, 
should  soon  be  hunted  down  by  them,  and  the  brush  placed  in 
their  hats  as  a  trophy.§ 

Moreover,  there  is  no  doubt  that  frequent  threats  of  personal 
violence  were  made  against  the  Cardinal.  Granvelle  informed 
the  King  that  his  life  was  continually  menaced  by  the  nobles, 
but  that  he  feared  them  little,  for  he  believed  them  too 
prudent  to  attempt  any  thing  of  the  kind.||  There  is  no 
doubt,  when  his  position  with  regard  to  the  upper  and  lower 
classes  in  the  country  is  considered,  that  there  was  enough  to 
alarm  a  timid  man  ;  but  Granvelle  was  constitutionally  brave. 
He  was  accused  of  wearing  a  secret  shirt  of  mail,^[  of  living 
in  perpetual   trepidation,   of  having   gone   on  his  knees   to 


'  "  Personage  escervelle  si  oncques  en  fut.'' — Pontus  Payen  MS. 
f  Pontus  Payen  MS.  %  Ibid. 

§  Pontus  Payen  MS.        \  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562.        ^  Ibid.,  vii.  426. 


856  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

Egmont  and  Orange,*  of  having  sent  Richardot,  Bishop  of 
Arras,  to  intercede  for  hirn  in  the  same  humiliating  manner 
with  Egmont.f  All  these  stories  were  fables.  Bold  as  he 
was  arrogant,  he  affected  at  this  time  to  look  down  with 
a  forgiving  contempt  on  the  animosity  of  the  nobles.  He 
passed  much  of  his  time  alone,  writing  his  eternal  dispatches 
to  the  King.  He  had  a  country-house,  called  La  Fontaine, 
surrounded  by  beautiful  gardens,  a  little  way  outside  the 
gates  of  Brussels,  where  he  generally  resided,  and  whence, 
notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of  his  friends,  he  often 
returned  to  town,  after  sunset,  alone,  or  with  but  a  few 
attendants.  J  He  avowed  that  he  feared  no  attempts  at 
assassination,  for,  if  the  seigniors  took  his  life,  they  would 
destroy  the  best  friend  they  ever  had.§  This  villa,  where 
most  of  his  plans  were  matured  and  his  state  papers  drawn 
up,  was  called  by  the  people,  in  derision  of  his  supposed 
ancestry,  "  The  Smithy.  "||  Here,  as  they  believed,  was  the 
anvil  upon  which  the  chains  of  their  slavery  were  forging ;  here, 
mostly  deserted  by  those  who  had  been  his  earlier  associates, 
he  assumed  a  philosophical  demeanor  winch  exasperated, 
without  deceiving  his  adversaries.  Over  the  great  gate  of  his 
house  he  had  placed  the  marble  statue  of  a  female.  It  held 
an  empty  wine-cup  in  one  hand,  and  an  urn  of  flowing  water 
in  the  other. ^[  The  single  word  "  Durate"  was  engraved 
upon  the  pedestal.**  By  the  motto,  which  was  his  habitual 
device,  he  was  supposed,  in  this  application,  to  signify  that  his 
power  would  outlast  that  of  the  nobles,  and  that  perennial 
and  pure  as  living  water,  it  would  flow  tranquilly  on,  long 
after  the  wine  of  their  life  had  been  drunk  to  the  lees.     The 


0  Ev.  Reydani  Ann.,  i.  4. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  449,  450.  \  Pontus  Payen  MS. 

§  "  Respondit  constamment  avecq  une  face  joieuse,  a  quel  propos  voules  vous 
que  je  me  garde  des  seigneurs,  il  n'y  a  pas  un  d'entre  eux  a  qui  je  n'ay  fait 
plaisir  et  service.  S'ils  me  tuent,  au  nom  de  Dieu,  je  serai  quicte  de  vivre,  et 
eux  d'un  tres  bon  amy,  qu'ils  regretteront  un  jour  lamentablement." — Pontucs 
Payen  MS. 

|  Vander  Vynckt,  i.  164.  f  Hoofd,  i.  39.  **  Ibid. 


1562.]  PUBLIC    AND    PRIVATE    HIEROGLYPHICS.  357 

fiery  extravagance  of  his  adversaries,  and  the  calni  and  limpid 
moderation  of  his  own  character,  thus  symbolized,  were  sup- 
posed to  convey  a  moral  lesson  to  the  world.  The  hiero- 
glyphics, thus  interpreted,  were  not  relished  by  the  nobles — 
all  avoided  his  society,  and  declined  his  invitations.  He  con- 
soled himself  with  the  company  of  the  lesser  gentry,-'  a  class 
which  he  now  began  to  patronize,  and  which  he  urgently 
recommended  to  the  favor  of  the  King,f  hinting  that  military 
and  civil  offices  bestowed  upon  their  inferiors  would  be  a  means 
of  lowering  the  pride  of  the  grandees.*  He  also  affected  to 
surround  himself  with  even  humbler  individuals.  "  It  makes 
me  laugh,"  he  wrote  to  Philip,  "  to  see  the  great  seigniors  ab- 
senting themselves  from  my  dinners ;  nevertheless,  I  can  al- 
ways get  plenty  of  guests  at  my  table,  gentlemen  and  coun- 
cillors. I  sometimes  invite  even  citizens,  in  order  to  gain  their 
good  will."§ 

The  Eegent  was  well  aware  of  the  anger  excited  in  the 
breasts  of  the  leading  nobles  by  the  cool  manner  in  which 
they  had  been  thrust  out  of  their  share  in  the  administration 
of  affairs.  She  defended  herself  with  acrimony  in  her  letters 
to  the  King, ||  although  a  defence  was  hardly  needed  in  that 
quarter  for  implicit  obedience  to  the  royal  commands.  She 
confessed  her  unwillingness  to  consult  with  her  enemies. ^[ 
She  avowed  her  determination  to  conceal  the  secrets  of  the 
government  from  those  who  were  capable  of  abusing  her 
confidence.  She  represented  that  there  were  members  of  the 
council  who  would  willingly  take  advantage  of  the  trepidation 
which  she  really  felt,  and  which  she  should  exhibit  if  she 
expressed  herself  without  reserve  before  them.*0  For  this 
reason  she  confined  herself,  as  Philip  had  always  intended, 
exclusively  to  the  Consulta.ff   It  was  not  difficult  to  recognize 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ubi  sup. 

f  Dom  l'Evesque,  ii.  53.  \  Ibid. 

§  "  Y  aun  burgeses  que  yo  llamo  per  ganarles  la  voluntad." — Papiers  d'Etat, 
vi.  552-562. 

I  Strada,  iii.  116,  117.  1  Ibid.  **  Ibid, 

ff  Ibid. — Compare  Groen  v.  Prinsterer,  Archives,  i.  117, 118. 


358  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

the  hand  which  wrote  the  letter  thus  signed  by  Margaret  of 
Parma. 

Both  nobles  and  people  were  at  this  moment  irritated  by 
another  circumstance.  The  civil  war  having  again  broken  out 
in  France,  Philip,  according  to  the  promise  made  by  him  to 
Catharine  de  Medici,  when  he  took  her  daughter  in  marriage, 
was  called  upon  to  assist  the  Catholic  party  with  auxiliaries. 
He  sent  three  thousand  infantry,  accordingly,  which  he  had  • 
levied  in  Italy,  as  many  more  collected  in  Spain,  and  gave 
immediate  orders  that  the  Duchess  of  Parma  should  despatch 
at  least  two  thousand  cavalry  from  the  Netherlands.*  Great 
was  the  indignation  in  the  council  when  the  commands  were 
produced.  Sore  was  the  dismay  of  Margaret.  It  was  im- 
possible to  obey  the  King.  The  idea  of  sending  the  famous 
mounted  gendarmerie  of  the  provinces  to  fight  against  the 
French  Huguenots  could  not  be  tolerated  for  an  instant.  The 
"  bands  of  ordonnance"  were  very  few  in  number,  and  were 
to  guard  the  frontier.  They  were  purely  for  domestic  pur- 
poses. It  formed  no  part  of  their  duty  to  go  upon  crusades 
in  foreign  lands  ;  still  less  to  take  a  share  in  a  religious 
quarrel,  and  least  of  all  to  assist  a  monarch  against  a  nation. 
These  views  were  so  cogently  presented  to  the  Duchess  in 
council,  that  she  saw  the  impossibility  of  complying  with  her 
brother's  commands.  She  wrote  to  Philip  to  that  effect. 
Meantime,  another  letter  arrived  out  of  Spain,  chiding  her 
delay,  and  impatiently  calling  upon  her  to  furnish  the  required 
cavalry  at  once.f  The  Duchess  was  in  a  dilemma.  She 
feared  to  provoke  another  storm  in  the  council,  for  there  was 
already  sufficient  wrangling  there  upon  domestic  subjects. 
She  knew  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  the  consent,  even  of 
Berlaymont  and  Viglius,  to  such  an  odious  measure  as  the  one 
proposed.  She  was,  however,  in  great  trepidation  at  the 
peremptory  tone  of  the  King's  despatch.  Under  the  advice  of 
Granvelle,  she  had  recourse  to  a  trick.     A  private  and  confi- 


*  Strada,  iii.  102,  103.  f  Ibid.,  iii.  104. 


1562.]  ASSEMBLY    OF   THE    FLEECE.  359 

clential  letter  of  Philip  was  read  to  the  council,  but  with  alter- 
ations suggested  and  interpolated  by  the  Cardinal.  The  King 
was  represented  as  being  furious  at  the  delay,  but  as  willing 
that  a  sum  of  money  should  be  furnished  instead  of  the  cav- 
alry, as  originally  required.0  This  compromise,  after  consider- 
able opposition,  was  accepted.  The  Duchess  wrote  to  Philip, 
explaining  and  apologizing  for  the  transaction.  The  King  re- 
ceived the  substitution  with  as  good  a  grace  as  could  have 
been  expected,  and  sent  fifteen  hundred  troopers  from  Spain 
to  his  Medicean  mother-in-law,  drawing  upon  the  Duchess  of 
Parma  for  the  money  to  pay  their  expenses.  Thus  was  the  in- 
dustry of  the  Netherlands  taxed  that  the  French  might  be  per- 
secuted by  their  own  monarch.f 

The  Regent  had  been  forbidden,  by  her  brother,  to  convoke 
the  states-general  ;  a  body  which  the  Prince  of  Orange,  sus- 
tained by  Berghen,  Montigny,  and  other  nobles,  was  desirous 
of  having  assembled.  It  may  be  easily  understood  that  Gran- 
velle  would  take  the  best  care  that  the  royal  prohibition 
should  be  enforced.  The  Duchess,  however,  who,  as  already 
hinted,  was  beginning  to  feel  somewhat  uncomfortable  under 
the  Cardinal's  dominion,  was  desirous  of  consulting  some 
larger  council  than  that  with  which  she  held  her  daily  delib- 
erations. A  meeting  of  the  Knights  of  the  Fleece  was 
accordingly  summoned.  They  assembled  in  Brussels,  in  the 
month  of  May,  1562.  J  The  learned  Viglius  addressed  them 
in  a  long  and  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  discussed  the 
troubled  and  dangerous  condition  of  the  provinces,  alluded  to 
some  of  its  causes,  and  suggested  various  remedies.  It  may 
be  easily  conceived,  however,  that  the  inquisition  was  not 
stated  among  the  causes,  nor  its  suppression  included  among 
the  remedies.  A  discourse,  in  which  the  fundamental  topic 
was  thus  conscientiously  omitted,  was  not  likely,  with  all  its 
concinnities,  to  make  much  impression  upon  the  disaffected 
knights,  or  to  exert  a  soothing  influence  upon  the  people.     The 


*  Strada,  iii.  104.  f  Ibid-  t  Ibi(1>  U8.     Vit.  Viglii,  36- 


360  THE    RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

orator  was,  however,  delighted  with  his  own  performance. 
He  informs  us,  moreover,  that  the  Duchess  was  equally 
charmed,  and  that  she  protested  she  had  never  in  her  whole 
life  heard  any  thing  more  "  delicate,  more  suitable,  or  more 
eloquent."*  The  Prince  of  Orange,  however,  did  not  sympa- 
thize with  her  admiration  The  President's  elegant  periods 
produced  but  little  effect  upon  his  mind.  The  meeting 
adjourned,  after  a  few  additional  words  from  the  Duchess,  in 
which  she  begged  the  knights  to  ponder  well  the  causes  of 
the  increasing  discontent,  and  to  meet  her  again,  prepared  to 
announce  what,  in  their  opinion,  would  be  the  course  best 
adapted  to  maintain  the  honor  of  the  King,  the  safety  of  the 
provinces,  and  the  glory  of  God.f 

Soon  after  the  separation  of  the  assembly,  the  Prince  of 
Orange  issued  invitations  to  most  of  the  knights,  to  meet  at 
his  house  for  the  purpose  of  private  deliberation.^  The 
President  and  Cardinal  were  not  included  in  these  invitations. 
The  meeting  was,  in  fact,  what  we  should  call  a  caucus,  rather 
than  a  general  gathering.  Nevertheless,  there  were  many 
of  the  government  party  present — men  who  differed  from  the 
Prince,  and  were  inclined  to  support  Granvelle.  The  meeting 
was  a  stormy  one.  Two  subjects  were  discussed.  The  first 
was  the  proposition  of  the  Duchess,  to  investigate  the  general 
causes  of  the  popular  dissatisfaction  ;  the  second  was  an 
inquiry  how  it  could  be  rendered  practicable  to  discuss  political 
matters  in  future — a  proceeding  now  impossible,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  perverseness  and  arrogance  of  certain  function- 
aries, and  one  which,  whenever  attempted,  always  led  to  the 
same  inevitable  result.  This  direct  assault  upon  the  Cardinal 
produced  a  furious  debate.  His  enemies  were  delighted  with 
the  opportunity  of  venting  their  long-suppressed  spleen.  They 
indulged  in  savage  invectives  against  the  man  whom  they  so 
sincerely  hated.  His  adherents,  on  the  other  hand — Bossu, 
Berlaymont,  Courieres — were  as  warm  in  his  defence.     They 


*  Vit.  Viglii,  36.  \  Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.,  iv.  25. 

X  Hoofd,  i.  40.     Vit.  Viglii.     Hopper,  ubi  sup. 


1562.]  THE    CAUCUS   AT   NASSAU   HOUSE.  361 

replied  by  indignant  denials  of  the  charge  against  him,  and 
by  bitter  insinuations  against  the  Prince  of  Orange.  They 
charged  him  with  nourishing  the  desire  of  being  appointed 
governor  of  Brabant,  an  office  considered  inseparable  from  the 
general  stadholderate  of  all  the  provinces.*  They  protested 
for  themselves  that  they  were  actuated  by  no  ambitious 
designs — that  they  were  satisfied  with  their  own  position,  and 
not  inspired  by  jealousy  of  personages  more  powerful  than 
themselves.f  It  is  obvious  that  such  charges  and  recrimina- 
tions could  excite  no  healing  result,  and  that  the  lines  between 
Cardinalists  and  their  opponents  would  be  defined  in  conse- 
quence more  sharply  than  ever.  The  adjourned  meeting  of 
the  Chevaliers  of  the  Fleece  took  place  a  few  days  afterwards.^ 
The  Duchess  exerted  herself  as  much  as  possible  to  reconcile 
the  contending  factions,  without  being  able,  however,  to  apply 
the  only  remedy  which  could  be  effective.  The  man  who  was 
already  fast  becoming  the  great  statesman  of  the  country 
knew  that  the  evil  was  beyond  healing,  unless  by  a  change  of 
purpose  on  the  part  of  the  government.  The  Kegent,  on  the 
other  hand,  who  it  must  be  confessed  never  exhibited  any 
remarkable  proof  of  intellectual  ability  during  the  period  of 
her  residence  in  the  Netherlands,  was  often  inspired  by  a 
feeble  and  indefinite  hope  that  the  matter  might  be  arranged 
by  a  compromise  between  the  views  of  conflicting  parties. 
Unfortunately  the  inquisition  was  not  a  fit  subject  for  a 
compromise. 

Nothing  of  radical  importance  was  accomplished  by  the 
Assembly  of  the  Fleece.  It  was  decided  that  an  application 
should  be  made  to  the  different  states  for  a  grant  of  money,§ 
and  that,  furthermore,  a  special  envoy  should  be  despatched  to 
Spain.  It  was  supposed  by  the  Duchess  and  her  advisers  that 
more  satisfactory  information  concerning  the  provinces  could 
be  conveyed  to  Philip  by  word  of  mouth  than  by  the  most 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  i.  147,  sqq.     Strada. 

f  Hoofd,  i.  40,  41.     Hopper.     Vit.  Viglii,  ubi  sup. 

\  Hopper.     Vit.  Viglii,  ubi  sup.  §  Vit.  Viglii,  36. 


362  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

elaborate  epistles.*  The  meeting  was  dissolved  after  these  two 
measures  had  been  agreed  upon.  Doctor  Yiglius,  upon  whom 
devolved  the  duty  of  making  the  report  and  petition  to  the 
states,  proceeded  to  draw  up  the  necessary  application.  This 
he  did  with  his  customary  elegance,  and,  as  usual,  very  much 
to  his  own  satisfaction,  f  On  returning  to  his  house,  however, 
after  having  discharged  this  duty,  he  was  very  much  troubled 
at  finding  that  a  large  mulberry-tree,  which  stood  in  his  gar- 
den, had  been  torn  up  by  the  roots  in  a  violent  hurricane.  The 
disaster  was  considered  ominous  by  the  President,  and  he  was 
accordingly  less  surprised  than  mortified  when  he  found,  subse- 
quently, that  his  demand  upon  the  orders  had  remained  as 
fruitless  as  his  ruined  tree.J  The  tempest  which  had  swept 
his  garden  he  considered  typical  of  the  storm  which  was  soon 
to  rage  through  the  land,  and  he  felt  increased  anxiety  to  reach 
a  haven  while  it  was  yet  comparatively  calm. 

The  estates  rejected  the  Request  for  supplies,  on  various 
grounds  ;  among  others,  that  the  civil  war  was  drawing  to  a 
conclusion  in  France,  and  that  less  danger  was  to  be  appre- 
hended from  that  source  than  had  lately  been  the  case.  Thus, 
the  "  cup  of  bitterness,"  of  which  Granvelle  had  already  com- 
plained, was  again  commended  to  his  lips,  and  there  was  more 
reason  than  ever  for  the  government  to  regret  that  the  national 
representatives  had  contracted  the  habit  of  meddling  with 
financial  matters.  § 

Florence  de  Montmorency,  Seigneur  de  Montigny,  was 
selected  by  the  Regent  for  the  mission  which  had  been  decided 
upon  for  Spain.  This  gentleman  was  brother  to  Count  Horn, 
but  possessed  of  higher  talents  and  a  more  amiable  character 
than  those  of  the  Admiral.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  Orange,  and 
a  bitter  enemy  to  Granvelle.  He  was  a  sincere  Catholic,  but  a 
determined  foe  to  the  inquisition.  His  brother  had  declined 
to  act  as  envoy.  1 1     This  refusal  can  excite  but  little  surprise, 


*  Strada,  iii.  119.  f  vit-  V'S1"-  ubi  SUP-  X  m& 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  543-545,  and  27. 

I  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  202,  203  (note). 


1562.]  A   CONSTITUTIONAL   OPPOSITION.  363 

when  Philip's  wrath  at  their  parting  interview  is  recalled,  and 
when  it  is  also  remembered  that  the  new  mission  would  neces- 
sarily lay  bare  fresh  complaints  against  the  Cardinal,  still  more 
extensive  than  those  which  had  produced  the  former  explosion 
of  royal  indignation.  Montigny,  likewise,  would  have  pre- 
ferred to  remain  at  home,  but  he  was  overruled.  It  had  been 
written  in  his  destiny  that  he  should  go  twice  into  the  angry 
lion's  den,  and  that  he  should  come  forth  once,  alive. 

Thus  it  has  been  shown  that  there  was  an  open,  avowed  hos- 
tility on  the  part  of  the  grand  seignors  and  most  of  the  lesser 
nobility  to  the  Cardinal  and  his  measures.  The  people  fully 
and  enthusiastically  sustained  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  his 
course.  There  was  nothing  underhand  in  the  opposition  made 
to  the  government.  The  Netherlands  did  not  constitute  an  ab- 
solute monarchy.  They  did  not  even  constitute  a  monarchy. 
There  was  no  king  in  the  provinces.  Philip  was  King  of  Spain, 
Naples,  Jerusalem,  but  he  was  only  Duke  of  Brabant,  Count  of 
Flanders,  Lord  of  Friesland,  hereditary  chief,  in  short,  under 
various  titles,  of  seventeen  states,  each  one  of  which,  although 
not  republican,  possessed  constitutions  as  sacred  as,  and  much 
more  ancient  than,  the  Crown.*  The  resistance  to  the  abso- 
lutism of  Granvelle  and  Philip  was,  therefore,  logical,  legal, 
constitutional.  It  was  no  cabal,  no  secret  league,  as  the  Car- 
dinal had  the  effrontery  to  term  it,  but  a  legitimate  exercise 
of  powers  which  belonged  of  old  to  those  who  wielded  them, 
and  which  only  an  unrighteous  innovation  could  destroy. 

Granvelle's  course  was  secret  and  subtle.  During  the  whole 
course  of  the  proceedings  which  have  just  been  described,  he 
was  in  daily  confidential  correspondence  with  the  King,  besides 
being  the  actual  author  of  the  multitudinous  despatches  which 
were  sent   with  the   signature  of   the  Duchess.      He  openly 


*  "On  respondra  qu'il  est  Roi:  et  je  dis  au  contraire  que  ce  nom  de  Roi  m'est 
incognu.  Qu'il  le  soit  en  Castillo  ou  Arragon,  a  Naples,  aux  Indes  et  par  tout 
ou  il  commande  a  plaisir :  qu'il  le  soit  s'il  veult  en  Jerusalem,  paisible  Domi- 
nateur  en  Asie  et  Afrique,  tant  y  a  que  je  ne  cognoi  en  ce  pais  qu'un  Due  et  un 
Compte,  duquel  la  puissance  est  limitee  selon  nos  privileges  lesquela  il  a  jure  a  la 
joieuse  entree,"  etc. — Apologie  d'Orange,  39,  40. 


364  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

asserted  his  right  to  monopolize  all  the  powers  of  the  Govern- 
ment ;  he  did  his  utmost  to  force  upon  the  reluctant  and 
almost  rebellious  people  the  odious  measures  which  the  King 
had  resolved  upon,  while  in  his  secret  letters  he  uniformly 
represented  the  nobles  who  opposed  him,  as  being  influenced, 
not  by  an  honest  hatred  of  oppression  and  attachment  to  an- 
cient rights,  but  by  resentment,  and  jealousy  of  their  own 
importance.  He  assumed,  in  his  letters  to  his  master,  that 
the  absolutism  already  existed  of  right  and  in  fact,  which  it  was 
the  intention  of  Philip  to  establish.  While  he  was  depriving 
the  nobles,  the  states  and  the  nation  of  their  privileges, 
and  even  of  their  natural  rights  (a  slender  heritage  in 
those  days),  he  assured  the  King  that  there  was  an  evident 
determination  to  reduce  his  authority  to  a  cipher. 

The  estates,  he  wrote,  had  usurped  the  whole  administration 
of  the  finances,*  and  had  farmed  it  out  to  Antony  Van 
Stralen  and  others,  who  were  making  enormous  profits  in  the 
business.f  "  The  seignors,"  he  said,  "  declare  at  their 
dinner  parties  that  I  wish  to  make  them  subject  to  the  abso- 
lute despotism  of  your  Majesty.  In  point  of  fact,  however, 
they  really  exercise  a  great  deal  more  power  than  the 
governors  of  particular  provinces  ever  did  before  ;  and  it  lacks 
but  little  that  Madame  and  your  Majesty  should  become 
mere  ciphers,  while  the  grandees  monopolize  the  whole  power. % 
This,"  he  continued,  "  is  the  principal  motive  of  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  new  bishoprics.  They  were  angry  that  your 
Majesty  should  have  dared  to  solicit  such  an  arrangement  at 
Rome,  without  first  obtaining  their  consent.^  They  ivish  to  re- 
duce your  Majesty's  authority  to  so  low  a  point  that  you  can  dc 
nothing  unless  they  desire  it.  Their  object  is  the  destruction  of 
the  royal  authority  and  of  the  administration  of  justice,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  payment  of  their  debts  ;  telling  their  cre- 


*  ' :  For  haver  usurpado  los  de  los  estados  la  administracion  de  los  dineros." — 
Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  543-545.  f  Ibid. 

\  "T  no  nos  faltaria  otra  cosa  sine  q  Madama  y  aunque  V.  M.,  estuviessen 
aqui  por  cifra,  y  que  ellos  hiziesen  todo." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562. 

6  Ibid. 


1562.]  LUDIMAGISTERIAL   TONE   OF   PERRENOT.  365 

ditors  constantly  that  they  have  spent  their  all  in  your 
Majesty's  service,  and  that  they  have  never  received 
recompence  or  salary.  This  they  do  to  make  your  Majesty 
odious."* 

As  a  matter  of  course,  he  attributed  the  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  great  nobles,  every  man  of  whom  was  Catholic, 
to  base  motives.  They  were  mere  demagogues,  who  refused 
to  burn  their  fellow-creatures,  not  from  any  natural  repug- 
nance to  the  task,  but  in  order  to  gain  favor  with  the 
populace.  "  This  talk  about  the  inquisition,"  said  he,  "  is  all 
a  pretext.  'Tis  only  to  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  vulgar, 
and  to  persuade  them  into  tumultuous  demonstrations,  while 
the  real  reason  is,  that  they  choose  that  your  Majesty  should 
do  nothing  without  their  permission,  and  through  their 
hands/'f 

He  assumed  sometimes,  however,  a  tone  of  indulgence  to- 
ward the  seignors — who  formed  the  main  topics  of  his  letters 
— an  affectation  which  might,  perhaps,  have  offended  them 
almost  as  much  as  more  open  and  sincere  denunciation.  He 
could  forgive  offences  against  himself.  It  was  for  Philip  to 
decide  as  to  their  merits  or  crimes  so  far  as  the  Crown  was 
concerned.  His  language  often  was  befitting  a  wise  man  who 
was  speaking  of  very  little  children.  "  Assonleville  has  told 
me,  as  coming  from  Egmont,"  he  wrote,  "  that  many  of  the 
nobles  are  dissatisfied  with  me  ;  hearing  from  Spain  that  I 
am  endeavoring  to  prejudice  your  Majesty  against  them." 
Certainly  the  tone  of  the  Cardinal's  daily  letters  would  have 
justified  such  suspicion,  could  the  nobles  have  seen  them. 
Gl-ranvelle  begged  the  King,  however,  to  disabuse  them  upon 
this  point.  "  Would  to  God,"  said  he,  piously,  "  that  they 
all  would  decide  to  sustain  the  authority  of  your  Majesty, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562. 

f  "  No  es  Sino  color  para  el  vulgo  a.  quien  persuaden  estar  cosas  para  procurar 
alboroto,  pero  la  verdadera  causa  de  los  que  presumen  entender  mas  es,  que  ar- 
riba  digo  y  no  querer  que  V.  M.  pueda  nada  sino  con  su  partlcipacion  y  por  su 
mano."— Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  569,  570. 


366  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

and  to  procure  such  measures  as  tend  to  the  service  of  God 
and  the  security  of  the  states.  May  I  cease  to  exist  if  I  do 
not  desire  to  render  good  service  to  the  very  least  of  these 
gentlemen.  Your  Majesty  knows  that,  when  they  do  any 
thing  for  the  benefit  of  your  service,  I  am  never  silent. 
Nevertheless,  thus  they  are  constituted.  I  hope,  however, 
that  this  flurry  will  blow  over,  and  that  when  your  Majesty 
comes  they  will  all  be  found  to  deserve  rewards  of  merit."* 

Of  Egmont,  especially,  he  often  spoke  in  terms  of  vague, 
but  somewhat  condescending  commendation.  He  never  mani- 
fested resentment  in  his  letters,  although,  as  already  stated, 
the  Count  had  occasionally  indulged,  not  only  in  words,  but 
in  deeds  of  extreme  violence  against  him.  But  the  Cardinal 
was  too  forgiving  a  Christian,  or  too  keen  a  politician  not  to 
pass  by  such  offences,  so  long  as  there  was  a  chance  of  so  great 
a  noble's  remaining  or  becoming  his  friend.  He,  accordingly, 
described  him,  in  general,  as  a  man  whose  principles,  in  the 
main,  were  good,  but  who  was  easily  led  by  his  own  vanity 
and  the  perverse  counsels  of  others.  He  represented  him  as 
having  been  originally  a  warm  supporter  of  the  new  bishoprics, 
and  as  having  expressed  satisfaction  that  two  of  them,  those 
of  Bruges  and  Ypres,  should  have  been  within  his  own  stad- 
holderate.f  He  regretted,  however,  to  inform  the  King,  that 
the  Count  was  latterly  growing  lukewarm,  perhaps  from 
fear  of  finding  himself  separated  from  the  other  nobles.J 
On  the  whole,  he  was  tractable  enough,  said  the  Cardinal, 
if  he  were  not  easily  persuaded  by  the  vile  ;  but  one  day, 
perhaps,  he  might  open  his  eyes  again.§  Notwithstanding 
these  vague  expressions  of  approbation,  which  Granvelle  per- 
mitted himself  in  his  letters  to  Philip,  he  never  failed 
to  transmit  to  the  monarch  every  fact,  every  rumor,  every 
inuendo  which  might  prejudice  the  royal  mind  against  that 
nobleman  or  against  any  of  the  noblemen,  whose  characters 
he  at  the  same  time  protested  he  was  most  unwilling  to  injure. 


*  Papiers  d'Etat.vl  535.         f  Ibid.  533.  J  Ibid.  §  Ibid.  vii.  45,  46- 


1562.]  DAMNABLE   INSINUATIONS.  307 

It  is  true  that  he  dealt  mainly  by  insinuation,  while  he  was 
apt  to  conclude  his  statements  with  disclaimers  upon  his  own 
part,  and  with  hopes  of  improvement  in  the  conduct  of  the 
seignors.  At  this  particular  point  of  time  he  furnished 
Philip  with  a  long  and  most  circumstantial  account  of  a  trea- 
sonable correspondence  which  was  thought  to  be  going  on 
between  the  leading  nobles  and  the  future  emperor,  Maxi- 
milian.* The  narrative  was  a  good  specimen  of  the  masterly 
style  of  inuendo  in  which  the  Cardinal  excelled,  and  by  wiiich 
he  was  often  enabled  to  convince  his  master  of  the  truth  of 
certain  statements  while  affecting  to  discredit  them.  He  had 
heard  a  story,  he  said,  which  he  felt  bound  to  communicate  to 
his  Majesty,  although  he  did  not  himself  implicitly  believe  it. 
He  felt  himself  the  more  bound  to  speak  upon  the  subject 
because  it  tallied  exactly  with  intelligence  which  he  had  received 
from  another  source.  The  story  w7as,f  that  one  of  these 
seigniors  (the  Cardinal  did  not  knoiv  which,  for  he  had  not  yet 
thought  proper  to  investigate  the  matter)  had  said  that  rather 
than  consent  that  the  King  should  act  in  this  matter  of  the 
bishoprics  against  the  privileges  of  Brabant,  the  nobles  would 
elect  for  their  sovereign  some  other  prince  of  the  blood.  This, 
said  the  Cardinal,  was  perhaps  a  fantasy  rather  than  an  actual 
determination.  Count  Egmont,  to  be  sure,  he  said,  wras  con- 
stantly exchanging  letters  with  the  King  of  Bohemia  (Maxi- 
milian), and  it  was  supposed,  therefore,  that  he  was  the  prince 
of  the  blood  who  was  to  be  elected  to  govern  the  provinces. 
It  was  determined  that  he  should  be  chosen  King  of  the 
Eomans,  by  fair  means  or  by  force,  that  he  should  assemble  an 
army  to  attack  the  Netherlands,  that  a  corresponding  move- 
ment should  be  made  within  the  states,  and  that  the  people 
should  be  made  to  rise,  by  giving  them  the  reins  in  the  matter 
of  religion.  The  Cardinal,  after  recounting  all  the  particulars 
of  this  fiction  with  great  minuteness,  added,  with  apparent 
frankness,  that  the  correspondence  between  Egmont  and  Maxi- 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  535-53  f  Ibid- 


368  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

milian  did  not  astonish  him,  because  there  had  been  much 
intimacy  between  them  in  the  time  of  the  late  Emperor.  He 
did  not  feel  convinced,  therefore,  from  the  frequency  of  the 
letters  exchanged,  that  there  was  a  scheme  to  raise  an  army  to 
attack  the  provinces  and  to  have  him  elected  by  force.  On 
the  contrary,  Maximilian  could  never  accomplish  such  a  scheme 
without  the  assistance  of  his  imperial  father  the  Emperor, 
whom  Granvelle  was  convinced  would  rather  die  than  be  mixed 
up  with  such  villany  against  Philip.*  Moreover,  unless  the 
people  should  become  still  more  corrupted  by  the  bad  counsels 
constantly  given  them,  the  Cardinal  did  not  believe  that  any 
of  the  great  nobles  had  the  power  to  dispose  in  this  way  of 
the  provinces  at  their  pleasure.  Therefore,  he  concluded  that 
the  story  was  to  be  rejected  as  improbable,  although  it  had 
come  to  him  directly  from  the  house  of  the  said  Count  Eg- 
mont.f  It  is  remarkable  that,  at  the  commencement  of  his 
narrative,  the  Cardinal  had  expressed  his  ignorance  of  the  name 
of  the  seignior  who  was  hatching  all  this  treason,  while  at  the 
end  of  it  he  gave  a  local  habitation  to  the  plot  in  the  palace 
of  Egmont.  It  is  also  quite  characteristic  that  he  should  add 
that,  after  all,  he  considered  that  nobleman  one  of  the  most 
honest  of  all,  if  appearances  did  not  deccive.% 

It  may  be  supposed,  however,  that  all  these  details  of  a  plot 
which  was  quite  imaginary,  were  likely  to  produce  more  effect 
upon  a  mind  so  narrow  and  so  suspicious  as  that  of  Philip, 
than  could  the  vague  assertions  of  the  Cardinal,  that  in  spite 
of  all,  he  would  dare  be  sworn  that  he  thought  the  Count 
honest,  and  that  men  should  be  what  they  seemed. 

Notwithstanding  the  conspiracy,  which,  according  to  Gran- 
velle's  letters,  had  been  formed  against  him,  notwithstanding 
that  his  life  was  daily  threatened,  he  did  not  advise  the  King 


*  "Y  antes  eligeria  S.  M.  Cei  el  morir  que  intentar  tanta  vellaqueria  contra 
Y.  M."— Ibid. 

f  " aunque  me  dezian  que  salia  de  la  casa  propria  del  dicho  conde." — 

Ibid. 

%  "  Por  uno  de  los  mas  claros  y  de  quien  pudiesse  Y.  M.  mas  confiar  si  las 
aparencias  no  me  engauan. — Ibid. 


1562.]  MASTER   AND   PUPIL.  369 

at  this  period  to  avenge  hini  by  any  public  explosion  of  wrath. 
He  remembered,  he  piously  observed,  that  vengeance  belonged 
to  God,  and  that  He  would  repay.*  Therefore  he  passed  over 
insults  meekly,  because  that  comported  best  with  his  Majesty's 
service.  Therefore,  too,  he  instructed  Philip  to  make  no  dem- 
onstration at  that  time,  in  order  not  to  damage  his  own  affairs. 
He  advised  him  to  dissemble,  and  to  pretend  not  to  know  what 
was  going  on  in  the  provinces.^  Knowing  that  his  master 
looked  to  him  daily  for  instructions,  always  obeyed  them  with 
entire  docility,  and,  in  fact,  could  not  move  a  step  in  Nether- 
land  matters  without  them,  he  proceeded  to  dictate  to  him  the 
terms  in  which  he  was  to  write  to  the  nobles,  and  especially 
laid  down  rules  for  his  guidance  in  his  coming  interviews  with 
the  Seigneur  de  Montigny.J  Philip,  whose  only  talent  con- 
sisted in  the  capacity  to  learn  such  lessons  with  laborious  effort, 
was  at  this  juncture  particularly  in  need  of  tuition.  The  Car- 
dinal instructed  him,  accordingly,  that  he  was  to  disabuse  all 
men  of  the  impression  that  the  Spanish  inquisition  was  to  be 
introduced  into  the  provinces.  He  was  to  write  to  the  seig- 
niors, promising  to  pay  them  their  arrears  of  salary  ;  he  was  to 
exhort  them  to  do  all  in  their  power  for  the  advancement  of 
religion  and  maintenance  of  the  royal  authority  ;  and  he  was  to 
suggest  to  them  that,  by  his  answer  to  the  Antwerp  deputa- 
tion, it  was  proved  that  there  was  no  intention  of  establishing 
the  inquisition  of  Spain,  under  pretext  of  the  new  bishoprics.§ 
The  King  was,  furthermore,  to  signify  his  desire  that  all  the 
nobles  should  exert  themselves  to  efface  this  false  impression 
from  the  popular  mind.  He  was  also  to  express  himself  to  the 
same  effect  concerning  the  Spanish  inquisition,  the  bishoprics, 
and  the  religious  question,  in  the  pitblic  letters  to  Madame  de 
Parma,  which  were  to  be  read  in  full  council.  ||  The  Cardinal 
also  renewed  his  instructions  to  the  King  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  Antwerp  deputies  were  to  be  answered,  by  giving 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  552-562.  f  Ibid. 

X  Ibid.     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  219. 
§  Ibid.  |  Ibid. 

vol.  i.  24 


370  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC  [1562. 

them,  namely,  assurances  that  to  transplant  the  Spanish  in- 
quisition into  the  provinces  would  be  as  hopeless  as  to  attempt 
its  establishment  in  Naples.*  He  renewed  his  desire  that 
Philip  should  contradict  the  story  about  the  half  dozen  heads,f 
and  he  especially  directed  him  to  inform  Montigny  that  Bcr- 
ghen  had  known  of  the  new  bishoprics  before  the  Cardinal. 
This,  urged  Granvelle,  was  particularly  necessary,  because  the 
seigniors  were  irritated  that  so  important  a  matter  should  have 
been  decided  upon  without  their  advice,  and  because  the  Mar- 
quis Berghen  was  now  the  "  cock  of  the  opposition." J 

At  about  the  same  time,  it  was  decided  by  Granvelle  and 
the  Eegent,  in  conjunction  with  the  King,  to  sow  distrust  and 
jealousy  among  the  nobles,  by  giving  greater  "  mercedes"  to 
some  than  to  others,  although  large  sums  were  really  due  to 
all.  In  particular,  the  attempt  was  made  in  this  paltry  man- 
ner, to  humiliate  William  of  Orange.§  A  considerable  sum 
was  paid  to  Egmont,  and  a  trifling  one  to  the  Prince,  in  con- 
sideration of  their  large  claims  upon  the  treasury.  Moreover 
the  Duke  of  Aerschot  was  selected  as  envoy  to  the  Frankfort 
Diet,  where  the  King  of  the  Romans  was  to  be  elected,  with 
the  express  intention,  as  Margaret  wrote  to  Philip,  of  creating 
divisions  among  the  nobles,  as  he  had  suggested.  The  Duch- 
ess at  the  same  time  informed  her  brother  that,  according  to 
Berlaymont,  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  revolving  some  great 
design,  prejudicial  to  his  Majesty's  service.^" 

Philip,  who  already  began  to  suspect  that  a  man  who 
thought  so  much  must  be  dangerous,  was  eager  to  find  out  the 
scheme  over  which  William  the  Silent   was   supposed  to  be 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  564. 

•j-  " que  yo  haya  escripto  a  V.  M.  que  no  cortando  *les  las  cabe^as  y  a 

otros  hasta  media  dozena  no  sera  sefior  destos  estados y  V.  M.  pueda  juzgar 

si  jamas  tel  cosa  me  deve  haver  pasado  por  el  pensamiento." — Papiers  d'Etat.  vi. 
568,  569. 

\  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  219. 

§  Strada,  iii.  121.     Dom  l'Evesque,  ii.  41-45. 

\  Dom  l'Evesque.     Strada,  ubi  sup.     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  225. 

T  Ibid. 


1562.]  MONTIGNY   IN   SPAIN.  371 

brooding,  and  wrote  for  fresh,  intelligence  to  the  Duchess, 
Neither  Margaret  nor  the  Cardinal,  however,  could  discover 
any  thing  against  the  Prince — who,  meantime,  although  dis- 
appointed of  the  mission  to  Frankfort,  had  gone  to  that  city 
in  his  private  capacity — saving  that  he  had  been  heard  to  say, 
"one  day  we  shall  be  the  stronger."0  Granvelle  and  Madame 
de  Parma  both  communicated  this  report  upon  the  same 
day,  but  this  was  all  that  they  were  able  to  discover  of  the 
latent  plot.* 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  (1562)  Montigny  made  his 
visit  to  Spain,  as  confidential  envoy  from  the  Regent.  The 
King  being  fully  prepared  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  was 
to  deal  with  him,  received  the  ambassador  with  great  cor- 
diality. He  informed  him  in  the  course  of  their  interviews, 
that  Granvelle  had  never  attempted  to  create  prejudice  against 
the  nobles,  that  he  was  incapable  of  the  malice  attributed  to 
him,  and  that  even  were  it  otherwise,  his  evil  representations 
against  other  public  servants  would  produce  no  effect.^  The 
King  furthermore  protested  that  he  had  no  intention  of 
introducing  the  Spanish  inquisition  into  the  Netherlands, 
and  that  the  new  bishops  were  not  intended  as  agents  for 
such  a  design,  but  had  been  appointed  solely  with  a  view 
of  smoothing  religious  difficulties  in  the  provinces,  and  of 
leading  his  people  back  into  the  fold  of  the  faithful.  He 
added,  that  as  long  ago  as  his  visit  to  England  for  the  pur- 
pose of  espousing  Queen  Mary,  he  had  entertained  the  project 
of  the  new  episcopates,  as  the  Marquis  Berghen,  with  whom  he 
had  conversed  freely  upon  the  subject,  could  bear  witness.§ 
With  regard  to  the  connexion  of  Granvelle  with  the  scheme, 
he  assured  Montigny  that  the  Cardinal  had  not  been  pre- 
viously consulted,  but  had  first  learned  the  plan  after  the 
mission  of  Sonnius.ll 


*  "Que  algun  dia  serian  los   mas  fuertes." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  5.     Corre- 
spondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  241,242.  f  Ibid.     Ibid, 

X  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  230.     Strada,  ii.  122,  123. 
§  Ibid.  J  Ibid. 


372  THE    RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

Suck  was  the  purport  of  the  King's  communications  to  the 
envoy,  as  appears  from  memoranda  in  the  royal  handwriting 
and  from  the  correspondence  of  Margaret  of  Parma.  Philip's 
exactness  in  conforming  to  his  instructions  is  sufficiently  appa- 
rent, on  comparing  his  statements  with  the  letters  previously 
received  from  the  omnipresent  Cardinal.  Beyond  the  limits  of 
those  directions  the  King  hardly  hazarded  a  syllable.  He  was 
merely  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  Cardinal,  as  Montigny  was 
of  the  Eegent.  So  long  as  Granvelle's  power  lasted,  he  was 
absolute  and  infallible.  Such,  then,  was  the  amount  of  satis- 
faction derived  from  the  mission  of  Montigny.  There  was  to 
be  no  diminution  of  the  religious  persecution,  but  the  people 
were  assured  upon  royal  authority,  that  the  inquisition,  by 
winch  they  were  daily  burned  and  beheaded,  could  not  be 
logically  denominated  the  Spanish  inquisition.  In  addition  to 
the  comfort,  whatever  it  might  be,  which  the  nation  could 
derive  from  this  statement,  they  were  also  consoled  with  the 
information  that  Granvelle  was  not  the  inventor  of  the 
bishoprics.  Although  he  had  violently  supported  the  measure 
as  soon  as  published,  secretly  denouncing  as  traitors  and  dema- 
gogues, all  those  who  lifted  their  voices  against  it,  although  he 
was  the  originator  of  the  renewed  edicts,  although  he  took, 
daily,  personal  pains  that  this  Netherland  inquisition,  "more 
pitiless  than  the  Spanish,"  should  be  enforced  in  its  rigor,  and 
although  he,  at  the  last,  opposed  the  slightest  mitigation  of 
its  horrors,  he  was  to  be  represented  to  the  nobles  and  the 
people  as  a  man  of  mild  and  unprejudiced  character,  incapable 
of  injuring  even  his  enemies.  "  I  will  deal  with  the  seigniors 
most  blandly,"  the  Cardinal  had  written  to  Philip,  "  and  will 
do  them  pleasure,  even  if  they  do  not  wish  it,  for  the  sake  of 
Grod  and  your  Majesty."0  It  was  in  this  light,  accordingly, 
that  Philip  drew  the  picture  of  his  favorite  minister  to  the 
envoy.  Montigny,  although  somewhat  influenced  by  the 
King's  hypocritical  assurances  of  the  benignity  with  which  he 


*  "To   usare  con   ellos  toda  blandura,  y  les  haro  plazer  en  quanto  pudiere 
aunquo  no  quieran  para  servicio  de  Dios  6  do  Y.  M." — Papiers  d'Etat.  vi.  5T3 


1562.]  RESULTS   OF   HIS   MISSION.  373 

regarded  the  Netherlands,  was,  nevertheless,  not  to  be  deceived 
by  this  flattering  portraiture  of  a  man  whom  he  knew  so  well 
and  detested  so  cordially  as  he  did  Granvelle.  Solicited  by 
the  King,  at  their  parting  interview,  to  express  his  candid 
opinion  as  to  the  causes  of  the  dissatisfaction  in  the  provinces, 
Montigny  very  frankly  and  most  imprudently  gave  vent  to  his 
private  animosity  towards  the  Cardinal.  He  spoke  of  his  licen- 
tiousness, greediness,  ostentation,  despotism,  and  assured  the 
monarch  that  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands 
entertained  the  same  opinion  concerning  him.  He  then 
dilated  upon  the  general  horror  inspired  by  the  inquisition  and 
the  great  repugnance  felt  to  the  establishment  of  the  new 
episcopates.  These  three  evils,  Granvelle,  the  inquisition, 
and  the  bishoprics,  he  maintained  were  the  real  and  sufficient 
causes  of  the  increasing  popular  discontent.*  Time  was  to 
reveal  whether  the  open-hearted  envoy  was  to  escape  punish- 
ment for  his  frankness,  and  whether  vengeance  for  these 
crimes  against  Granvelle  and  Pliilip  were  to  be  left  wholly,  as 
the  Cardinal  had  lately  suggested,  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord. 

Montigny  returned  late  in  December.f  His  report  con- 
cerning the  results  of  his  mission  was  made  in  the  state  council, 
and  was  received  with  great  indignation.  J  The  professions  of 
benevolent  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign  made  no 
impression  on  the  mind  of  Orange,  who  was  already  in  the 
habit  of  receiving  secret  information  from  Spain  with  regard 
to  the  intentions  of  the  government.  He  knew  very  well  that 
the  plot  revealed  to  him  by  Henry  the  Second  in  the  wood  of 
Vincennes  was  still  the  royal  program,  so  far  as  the  Spanish 
monarch  was  concerned.  Moreover,  his  anger  was  heightened 
by  information  received  from  Montigny  that  the  names  of 
Orange,  Egmont  and  their  adherents,  were  cited  to  him  as  he 
passed  through  France  as  the  avowed  defenders  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, in  politics  and  religion.§  The  Prince,  who  was  still  a 
sincere  Catholic,  while  he  hated  the  persecutions  of  the  inqui- 


*  Strada  iii.  122,  123.     Correspondance  do  Philippe  II,  i.  232. 
f  Strada,  iii.  123.  \  Ibid.  §  Ibid, 


374  THE    BISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1562. 

sition,  was  furious  at  the  statement.  A  violent  scene  occurred 
in  the  council.  Orange  openly  denounced  the  report  as  a  new 
slander  of  Grranvelle,  while  Margaret  defended  the  Cardinal 
and  denied  the  accusation,  but  at  the  same  time  endeavored 
with  the  utmost  earnestness  to  reconcile  the  conflicting 
parties.* 

It  had  now  become  certain,  however,  that  the  government 
could  no  longer  be  continued  on  its  present  footing.  Either 
Grranvelle  or  the  seigniors  must  succumb.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  was  resolved  that  the  Cardinal  should  fall  or  that  he 
would  himself  withdraw  from  all  participation  in  the  affairs  of 
government.  In  this  decision  he  was  sustained  by  Egmont, 
Horn,  Montigny,  Berghen,  and  the  other  leading  nobles. 


*  Strada,  iii.  123. 


CHAPTER    IY. 


Joint  letter  to  Philip,  from  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn — Egmont's  quarrel  with 
Aerschot  and  with  Aremberg — Philip's  answer  to  the  three  nobles — His 
instructions  to  the  Duchess — Egmont  declines  the  King's  invitation  to  visit 
Spain — Second  letter  of  the  three  seigniors — Mission  of  Armenteros — Letter 
of  Alva — Secret  letters  of  Granvelle  to  Philip — The  Cardinal's  insinuations 
and  instructions — His  complaints  as  to  the  lukewarmness  of  Berghen  and 
Montigny  in  the  cause  of  the  inquisition — Anecdotes  to  their  discredit  pri- 
vately chronicled  by  Granvelle — Supposed  necessity  for  the  King's  presence 
in  the  provinces — Correspondence  of  Lazarus  Schwendi — Approaching  crisis 
— Anxiety  of  Granvelle  to  retire — Banquet  of  Caspar  Schetz — Invention  of 
the  foolscap  livery — Correspondence  of  the  Duchess  and  of  the  Cardinal 
with  Philip  upon  the  subject — Entire  withdrawal  of  the  three  seigniors  from 
the  state  council — the  King  advises  with  Alva  concerning  the  recal  of 
Granvelle — Elaborate  duplicity  of  Philip's  arrangements — His  secret  note  to 
the  Cardinal — His  dissembling  letters  to  others — Departure  of  Granvelle 
from  the  Netherlands — Various  opinions  as  to  its  cause — Ludicrous  conduct 
of  Brederode  and  Hoogstraaten — Fabulous  statements  in  Granvelle's  cor- 
respondence concerning  his  recal — Universal  mystification — The  Cardinal 
deceived  by  the  King — Granvelle  in  retirement — His  epicureanism — Fears 
in  the  provinces  as  to  his  return — Universal  joy  at  his  departure — Repre- 
sentations to  his  discredit  made  by  the  Duchess  to  Philip — Her  hypocritical 
letters  to  the  Cardinal — Masquerade  at  Count  Mansfeld's — Chantonnay's 
advice  to  his  brother — Review  of  Granvelle's  administration  and  estimate  of 
his  character. 

On  the  11th  March,  1563,  Orange,  Horn,  and  Egmont  united 
in  a  remarkable  letter  to  the  King.*  They  said  that  as  their 
longer  "  taciturnity"  might  cause  the  ruin  of  his  Majesty's 
affairs,  they  were  at  last  compelled  to  break  silence.  They 
hoped  that  the  King  would  receive  with  benignity  a  com- 


Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit.,  ii.  35-39. 


376  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

munication  which,  was  pure,  frank,  and  free  from  all  passion. 
The  leading  personages  of  the  province,  they  continued, 
having  thoroughly  examined  the  nature  and  extent  of  Cardinal 
Granvelle's  authority,  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  every 
thing  was  in  his  hands.  This  persuasion,  they  said,  was 
rooted  in  the  hearts  of  all  his  Majesty's  subjects,  and  particu- 
larly in  their  own,  so  deeply,  that  it  could  not  be  eradicated 
as  long  as  the  Cardinal  remained.  The  King  was  therefore 
implored  to  consider  the  necessity  of  remedying  the  evil.  The 
royal  affairs,  it  was  affirmed,  would  never  be  successfully 
conducted  so  long  as  they  were  entrusted  to  Granvelle,  because 
he  was  so  odious  to  so  many  people.  If  the  danger  were 
not  imminent,  they  should  not  feel  obliged  to  write  to  his 
Majesty  with  so  much  vehemence.  It  was,  however,  an  affair 
which  allowed  neither  delay  nor  dissimulation.  They  there- 
fore prayed  the  King,  if  they  had  ever  deserved  credence  in 
things  of  weight,  to  believe  them  now.  By  so  doing,  his 
Majesty  would  avoid  great  mischief.  Many  grand  seigniors, 
governors,  and  others,  had  thought  it  necessary  to  give  this 
notice,  in  order  that  the  King  might  prevent  the  ruin  of  the 
country.  If,  however,  his  Majesty  were  willing,  as  they 
hoped,  to  avoid  discontenting  all  for  the  sake  of  satisfying  one, 
it  was  possible  that  affairs  might  yet  prosper.  That  they 
might  not  be  thought  influenced  by  ambition  or  by  hope  of 
private  j)rofit,  the  writers  asked  leave  to  retire  from  the  state 
council.  Neither  their  reputation,  they  said,  nor  the  interests 
of  the  royal  service  would  permit  them  to  act  with  the 
Cardinal.  They  professed  themselves  dutiful  subjects  and 
Catholic  vassals.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  zeal  of  the  leading 
seigniors,  the  nobility,  and  other  well-disposed  persons,  affairs 
would  not  at  that  moment  be  so  tranquil  ;  the  common  people 
having  been  so  much  injured,  and  the  manner  of  life  pursued 
by  the  Cardinal  not  being  calculated  to  give  more  satisfaction 
than  was  afforded  by  his  unlimited  authority.  In  conclusion, 
the  writers  begged  his  Majesty  not  to  throw  the  blame  upon 
them,  if  mischance  should  follow  the  neglect  of  this  warning. 
This  memorable  letter  was  signed  by  Guillaume  de  Nassau, 


1563.]  THE   IDES   OF    MAECH.  377 

Laraoral  d'Eginont,  and  Philippes  de  Montmorency  (Count 
Horn).  It  was  despatched  under  cover  to  Charles  de  Tisnacq,* 
a  Belgian,  and  procurator  for  the  affairs  of  the  Netherlands  at 
Madrid,  a  man  whose  relations  with  Count  Egmont  were  of  a 
friendly  character.  It  was  impossible,  however,  to  keep  the 
matter  a  secret  from  the  person  most  interested.  The  Cardi- 
nal wrote  to  the  King  the  day  before  the  letter  was  written, 
and  many  weeks  before  it  was  sent,  to  apprize  him  that  it  was 
coming,  and  to  instruct  him  as  to  the  answer  he  was  to  make.f 
Nearly  all  the  leading  nobles  and  governors  had  adhered  to 
the  substance  of  the  letter,  save  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  Count 
Aremberg,  and  Baron  Berlaymont.  The  Duke  and  Coimt  had 
refused  to  join  the  league  ;  violent  scenes  having  occurred 
upon  the  subject  between  them  and  the  leaders  of  the  opposi- 
tion party.  Egmont,  being  with  a  large  shooting  party  at 
Aerschot's  country  place,  Beaumont,  had  taken  occasion  to 
urge  the  Duke  to  join  in  the  general  demonstration  against 
the  Cardinal,  arguing  the  matter  in  the  rough,  off-hand,  reck- 
less manner  which  was  habitual  with  him.  His  arguments 
offended  the  nobleman  thus  addressed,  who  was  vain  and 
irascible.  He  replied  by  affirming  that  he  was  a  friend  to 
Egmont,  but  would  not  have  him  for  his  master.  He  would 
have  nothing  to  do,  he  said,  with  their  league  against  the 
Cardinal,  who  had  never  given  him  cause  of  enmity.  He  had 
no  disposition  to  dictate  to  the  King  as  to  his  choice  of  minis- 
ters, and  his  Majesty  was  quite  right  to  select  his  servants  at 
his  own  pleasure.  The  Duke  added  that  if  the  seigniors  did 
not  wish  him  for  a  friend,  it  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
him.  Not  one  of  them  was  his  superior  ;  he  had  as  large  a 
band  of  noble  followers  and  friends  as  the  best  of  them,  and 
he  had  no  disposition  to  accept  the  supremacy  of  any  noble- 
man in  the  land.  The  conversation  carried  on  in  this  key 
soon  became  a  quarrel,  and  from  words  the  two  gentlemen 
would  soon  have  come  to  blows,  but  for  the  interposition  of 


*  Strada,  iiL  126.  f  Papiere  d'Etat,  vil  11-21. 


378  THE  BISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

Aremberg  and  Robles,  who  were  present  at  the  scene.  The 
Duchess  of  Parma,  narrating  the  occurrence  to  the  King, 
added  that  a  duel  had  been  the  expected  result  of  the  affair, 
but  that  the  two  nobles  had  eventually  been  reconciled.0  It 
was  characteristic  of  Aerschot  that  he  continued  afterward  to 
associate  with  the  nobles  upon  friendly  terms,  while  maintain- 
ing an  increased  intimacy  with  the  Cardinal.*}* 

The  gentlemen  who  sent  the  letter  were  annoyed  at  the ' 
premature  publicity  which  it  seemed  to  have  attained.  Orange 
had  in  vain  solicited  Count  Aremberg  to  join  the  league,  and 
had  quarrelled  with  him  in  consequence."!:  Egmont,  in  the 
presence  of  Madame  de  Parma,  openly  charged  Aremberg 
with  having  divulged  the  secret  which  had  been  confided  to 
him.  The  Count  fiercely  denied  that  he  had  uttered  a  syl- 
lable on  the  subject  to  a  human  being  ;  but  added  that  any 
communication  on  his  part  would  have  been  quite  superfluous, 
while  Egmont  and  his  friends  were  daily  boasting  of  what  they 
were  to  accomplish.  Egmont  reiterated  the  charge  of  a  breach 
of  faith  by  Aremberg.  That  nobleman  replied  by  laying  his 
hand  upon  his  sword,  denouncing  as  bars  all  persons  who 
should  dare  to  charge  him  again  with  such  an  offence,  and  of- 
fering to  fight  out  the  quarrel  upon  the  instant.  Here,  again, 
personal  combat  was,  with  much  difficulty,  averted.§ 

Egmont,  rude,  reckless,  and  indiscreet,  was  already  making 
manifest  that  he  was  more  at  home  on  a  battle-field  than 
in  a  political  controversy  where  prudence  and  knowledge  of 
human  nature  were  as  requisite  as  courage.  He  was  at  this 
period  more  liberal  in  his  sentiments  than  at  any  moment  of 
his  life.  Inflamed  by  his  hatred  of  Granvelle,  and  determined 
to  compass  the  overthrow  of  that  minister,  he  conversed 
freely  with  all  kinds  of  people,  sought  popularity  among  the 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  5,  11-21.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  241,  242. 
Strada,  iii.  124. 

j-  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  11-21. — "  Converso  con  ellos,  y  ellos  con  el,  con  muy 
buena  cara,  y  ny  mas  ny  menos  el  conmigo  y  yo  con  el." 

I  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  18,  19. 

§  Strada,  iii.  126.     Correspondance  de  Philippo  IL,  i.  248. 


1563.]  CONSEQUENCES   OF   THE   MARCH   LETTER.  379 

burghers,  and  descanted  to  every  one  with  much  imprudence 
upon  the  necessity  of  union  for  the  sake  of  liberty  and  the 
national  good.*  The  Kegent,  while  faithfully  recording  in  her 
despatches  every  thing  of  this  nature  which  reached  her  ears, 
expressed  her  astonishment  at  Egmont's  course,  because,  as 
she  had  often  taken  occasion  to  inform  the  King,  she  had 
always  considered  the  Count  most  sincerely  attached  to  his 
Majesty's  service.f 

Berlaymont,  the  only  other  noble  of  prominence  who  did 
not  approve  the  11th  of  March  letter,  was  at  this  period 
attempting  to  "  swim  in  two  waters,"  and,  as  usual  in  such 
cases,  found  it  very  difficult  to  keep  himself  afloat.  He  had 
refused  to  join  the  league,  but  he  stood  aloof  from  Granvelle. 
On  a  hope  held  out  by  the  seigniors  that  his  son  should  be 
made  Bishop  of  Liege,  he  had  ceased  during  a  whole  year  from 
visiting  the  Cardinal,  and  had  never  spoken  to  him  at  the 
council-board.  +  Granvelle,  in  narrating  these  circumstances 
to  the  King,  expressed  the  opinion  that  Berlaymont,  by  thus 
attempting  to  please  both  parties,  had  thoroughly  discredited 
himself  with  both.§ 

The  famous  epistle,  although  a  most  reasonable  and  manly 
statement  of  an  incontrovertible  fact,  was  nevertheless  a  docu- 
ment which  it  required  much  boldness  to  sign.  The  minister 
at  that  moment  seemed  omnipotent,  and  it  was  obvious  that 
the  King  was  determined  upon  a  course  of  political  and  relig- 
ious absolutism.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that,  although 
many  sustained  its  principles,  few  were  willing  to  affix  their 
names  to  a  paper  which  might  prove  a  death-warrant  to  the 
signers.  Even  Montigny  and  Berghen,  although  they  had 
been  active  in  conducting  the  whole  cabal,  if  cabal  it  could  be 
called,  refused  to  subscribe  the  letter.  ||  Egmont  and  Horn 
were  men  of  reckless  daring,  but  they  were  not  keen-sighted 
enough  to   perceive    fully   the    consequences    of  their    acts. 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  248.  f  Ibid. 

%  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  11-21.  §  Ibid, 

J  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  2. 


380  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

Orange  was  often  accused  by  his  enemies  of  timidity,  but  no 
man  ever  doubted  his  profound  capacity  to  look  quite  through 
the  deeds  of  men.  His  political  foresight  enabled  him  to 
measure  the  dangerous  precipice  which  they  were  deliberately 
approaching,  while  the  abyss  might  perhaps  be  shrouded  to 
the  vision  of  his  companions.  He  was  too  tranquil  of  nature 
to  be  hurried,  by  passion,  into  a  grave  political  step,  which  in 
cooler  moments  he  might  regret.  He  resolutely,  therefore, 
and  with  his  eyes  open,  placed  himself  in  open  and  recorded 
enmity  with  the  most  powerful  and  dangerous  man  in  tho 
whole  Spanish  realm,  and  incurred  the  resentment  of  a  King 
who  never  forgave.  It  may  be  safely  averred  that  as  much 
courage  was  requisite  thus  to  confront  a  cold  and  malignant 
despotism,  and  to  maintain  afterwards,  without  flinching,  dur- 
ing a  whole  lifetime,  the  cause  of  national  rights  and  liberty 
of  conscience,  as  to  head  the  most  brilliant  charge  of  cavalry 
that  ever  made  J    ro  famous. 

Philip  answered  the  letter  of  the  three  nobles  on  the  6th 
June  following.  In  this  reply,*  which  was  brief,  he  acknowl- 
edged the  zeal  and  affection  by  which  the  writers  had  been 
actuated.  He  suggested,  nevertheless,  that,  as  they  had 
mentioned  no  particular  cause  for  adopting  the  advice  con- 
tained in  their  letter,  it  would  be  better  that  one  of  them 
should  come  to  Madrid  to  confer  with  him.  Such  matters,  he 
said,  could  be  better  treated  by  word  of  mouth.  He  might 
thus  receive  sufficient  information  to  enable  him  to  form  a 
decision,  for,  said  he  in  conclusion,  it  was  not  his  custom  to 
aggrieve  any  of  his  ministers  without  cause.f 

This  was  a  fine  phrase,  but  under  the  circumstances  of  its 
application,  quite  ridiculous.  There  was  no  question  of 
aggrieving  the  minister.  The  letter  of  the  three  nobles  was 
very  simple.  It  consisted  of  a  fact  and  a  deduction.  The 
fact  stated  was,  that  the  Cardinal  was  odious  to  all  classes  of 


*  Correspondance  de  G.  le  Tacit.,  ii.  41,  42. 

f  Ibid. — "  Car  ce  n'est  pas  ma  coustume  de  grever  aucuns  de  mes  ministrea 
saia  cause." 


1563.]  PHILIP'S   MEAGRE   REPLY.  381 

the  nation,  The  deduction  drawn  was,  that  the  government 
could  no  longer  be  carried  on  by  him  without  imminent  danger 
of  ruinous  convulsions.  The  fact  was  indisputable.  The 
person  most  interested  confirmed  it  in  his  private  letters. 
"  'Tis  said,"  wrote  Granvelle  to  Philip,  "  that  grandees,  nobles, 
and  people,  all  abhor  me,  nor  am  I  surprised  to  find  that 
grandees,  nobles,  and  people  are  all  openly  against  me,  since 
each  and  all  have  been  invited  to  join  in  the  league."0 
The  Cardinal's  reasons  for  the  existence  of  the  unpopularity, 
which  he  admitted  to  the  full,  have  no  bearing  upon  the  point 
in  the  letter.  The  fact  was  relied  upon  to  sustain  a  simple, 
although  a  momentous  inference.  It  was  for  Philip  to  decide 
upon  the  propriety  of  the  deduction,  and  to  abide  by  the  con- 
sequences of  his  resolution  when  taken.  As  usual,  however, 
the  monarch  was  not  capable  of  making  up  his  mind.  He 
knew  very  well  that  the  Cardinal  was  odious  and  infamous, 
because  he  was  the  willing  impersonation  of  the  royal  policy. 
Philip  was,  therefore,  logically  called  upon  to  abandon  the 
policy  or  to  sustain  the  minister.  He  could  make  up  his  mind 
to  do  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  In  the  mean  time  a  well- 
turned  period  of  mock  magnanimity  had  been  furnished  him. 
Tins  he  accordingly  transmitted  as  his  first  answer  to  a  most 
important  communication  upon  a  subject  which,  in  the  words 
of  the  writers,  "  admitted  neither  of  dissimulation  nor  delay." 
To  deprive  Philip  of  dissimulation  and  delay,  however,  was  to 
take  away  his  all.  They  were  the  two  weapons  with  which  he 
fought  his  long  life's  battle.  They  summed  up  the  whole  of 
his  intellectual  resources.  It  was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  he 
shoidd  at  once  have  recourse  to  both  on  such  an  emergency  as 
the  present  one. 

At  the  same  time  that  he  sent  his  answer  to  the  nobles,  he 
wrote  an  explanatory  letter  to  the  Eegent.  He  informed  her 
that  he  had  received  the  communication  of  the  three  seigniors, 
but  instructed  her  that  she  was  to  appear  to  know  nothing  of 


°  "Que    agora  grandes   y  nobles   y  pueblo   me   abhorrecian,"  etc. — Papiers 
d'Etat,  vii.  11-21. 


382  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

the  matter  until  Egmont  should  speak  to  her  upon  the  subject. 
He  added  that,  although  he  had  signified  his  wish  to  the  three 
nobles,  that  one  of  them,  without  specifying  which,  should 
come  to  Madrid,  he  in  reality  desired  that  Egmont,  who 
seemed  the  most  tractable  of  the  three,  should  be  the  one 
deputed.  The  King  added,  that  his  object  was  to  divide  the 
nobles,  and  to  gain  time* 

It  was  certainly  superfluous  upon  Philip's  part  to  inform  his  . 
sister  that  his  object  was  to  gain  time.  Procrastination  was 
always  his  first  refuge,  as  if  the  march  of  the  world's  events 
would  pause  indefinitely  while  he  sat  in  his  cabinet  and  pon- 
dered. It  was,  however,  sufficiently  puerile  to  recommend  to 
his  sister  an  affectation  of  ignorance  on  a  subject  concerning 
which  nobles  had  wrangled,  and  almost  drawn  their  swords  in 
her  presence.  This,  however,  was  the  King's  statesmanship 
when  left  to  his  unaided  exertions.  Granvelle,  who  was  both 
Philip  and  Margaret  when  either  had  to  address  or  to  respond 
to  the  world  at  large,  did  not  always  find  it  necessary  to  regu- 
late the  correspondence  of  his  puppets  between  themselves.  In 
order  more  fully  to  divide  the  nobles,  the  King  also  transmitted 
to  Egmont  a  private  note,  in  his  own  handwriting,  expressing 
his  desire  that  he  should  visit  Spain  in  person,  that  they  might 
confer  together  upon  the  whole  subject.f 

These  letters,  as  might  be  supposed,  produced  any  thing  but 
a  satisfactory  effect.  The  discontent  and  rage  of  the  gentle- 
men who  had  written  or  sustained  the  11th  of  March  com- 
munication, was  much  increased.  The  answer  was,  in  truth, 
no  answer  at  alb  "  'Tis  a  cold  and  bad  reply,"  wrote  Louis 
of  Nassau,  "  to  send  after  so  long  a  delay.  'Tis  easy  to  see 
that  the  letter  came  from  the  Cardinal's  smithy.  In  summd, 
it  is  a  vile  business,  if  the  gentlemen  are  all  to  be  governed  by 
one  person.  I  hope  to  God  his  power  will  come  soon  to  an 
end.      Nevertheless,"  added  Louis,   "  the  gentlemen  are  all 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  251. 

f  Strada,  iii.  127.     Hopper  Rec  et  Mem.,  33.     Hoofd,  ii.  42,  43. 


1563.]       EGMONT   DECLINES   AN   INVITATION   TO    SPAIN(  383 

wide  awake,  for  they  trust  the  red  fellow  not  a  bit  more  than 
he  deserves,,"  * 

The  reader  has  already  seen  that  the  letter  was  indeed 
"  from  the  Cardinal's  smithy,'"'  Grranvelle  having  instructed  his 
master  how  to  reply  to  the  seigniors  before  the  communication 
had  been  despatched. 

The  Duchess  wrote  immediately  to  inform  her  brother  that 
Egmont  had  expressed  himself  willing  enough  to  go  to  Spain, 
but  had  added  that  he  must  first  consult  Orange  and  Horn,  j 
As  soon  as  that  step  had  been  taken,  she  had  been  informed 
that  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  advise  with  all  the  gentle- 
men who  had  sanctioned  their  letter.  The  Duchess  had  then 
tried  in  vain  to  prevent  such  an  assembly,  but  rinding  that, 
even  if  forbidden,  it  would  still  take  place,  she  had  permitted 
the  meeting  in  Brussels,  as  she  could  better  penetrate  into 
their  proceedings  there,  than  if  it  should  be  held  at  a  distance. 
She  added,  that  she  should  soon  send  her  secretary  Armenteros 
to  Spain,  that  the  King  might  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
what  was  occurring.  :£ 

Egmont  soon  afterwards  wrote  to  Philip,  declining  to  visit 
Spain  expressly  on  account  of  the  Cardinal.  He  added,  that 
he  was  ready  to  undertake  the  journey,  should  the  King 
command  his  presence  for  any  other  object.§  The  same 
decision  was  formally  communicated  to  the  Kegent  by  those 
Chevaliers  of  the  Fleece  who  had  approved  the  11th  of  March 
letter — Montigny,  Berghen,  Meghem,  Mansfeld,  Ligne,  Hoog- 
straaten,  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn.  The  Prince  of  Orange, 
speaking  in  the  name  of  all,  informed  her  that  they  did  not 
consider  it  consistent  with  their  reputation,  nor  with  the 
interest  of  his  Majesty,  that  any  one  of  them  should  make 
so  long  and  troublesome  a  journey,  in  order  to  accuse  the 
Cardinal.  For  any  other  purpose,  they  all  held  themselves 
ready  to  go  to  Spain  at  once.  The  Duchess  expressed  her 
regret  at  this  resolution.      The   Prince   replied  by  affirming 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  164,  165. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  255-259.  J  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 


384  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLICS  [1563. 

that,  in  all  their  proceedings,  they  had  been  governed,  not  by 
hatred  of  Granvelle  but  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  his  Majesty. 
It  was  now,  he  added,  for  the  King  to  pursue  what  course  it 
pleased  him.* 

Four  days  after  this  interview  with  the  Regent,  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  Horn  addressed  a  second  letter  to  the  King.f 
In  this  communication  they  stated  that  they  had  consulted 
with  all  the  gentlemen  with  whose  approbation  their  first 
letter  had  been  written.  As  to  the  journey  of  one  of  them  to 
Spain,  as  suggested,  they  pronounced  it  very  dangerous  for 
any  seignior  to  absent  himself,  in  the  condition  of  affairs 
which  then  existed.  It  was  not  a  sufficient  cause  to  go 
thither  on  account  of  Granvelle.  They  disclaimed  any 
intention  of  making  themselves  parties  to  a  process  against 
the  Cardinal.  They  had  thought  that  their  simple,  brief 
announcement  would  have  sufficed  to  induce  his  Majesty  to 
employ  that  personage  in  other  jdaces,  where  his  talents  would 
be  more  fruitful.  As  to  "  aggrieving  the  Cardinal  without 
cause,"  there  was  no  question  of  aggrieving  him  at  all,  but 
of  relieving  him  of  an  office  which  could  not  remain  in  his 
hands  without  disaster.  As  to  "  no  particular  cause  having 
been  mentioned,"  they  said  the  omission  was  from  no  lack 
of  many  such.  They  had  charged  none,  however,  because, 
from  their  past  services  and  their  fidelity  to  his  Majesty,  they 
expected  to  be  believed  on  their  honor,  without  further 
witnesses  or  evidence.  They  had  no  intention  of  making 
themselves  accusers.  They  had  purposely  abstained  from 
specifications.  If  his  Majesty  should  proceed  to  ampler 
information,  causes  enough  would  be  found.  It  was  better, 
however,  that  they  should  be  furnished  by  others  than  by 
themselves.  His  Majesty  would  then  find  that  the  public 
and  general  complaint  was  not  without  adequate  motives. 
They  renewed  their  prayer  to  be  excused  from  serving  in  the 
council  of  state,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be  afterwards 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  259. 

f  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit.,  ii.  42-4?, 


1563.]  MISSION    OF    ARMENTEROS.  385 

inculpated  for  the  faults  of  others.  Feeling  that  the  con- 
troversy between  themselves  and  the  Cardinal  de  Granvelle  in 
the  state  council  produced  no  fruit  for  his  Majesty's  affairs, 
they  preferred  to  yield  to  him.  In  conclusion,  they  begged 
the  King  to  excuse  the  simplicity  of  their  letters,  the  rather 
that  they  were  not  by  nature  great  orators,  but  more  accus- 
tomed to  do  well  than  to  speak  well,  which  was  also  more 
becoming  to  persons  of  their  quality.* 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Count  Horn  also  addressed  a  private 
letter  to  the  King,  written  in  the  same  spirit  as  that  which 
characterized  the  joint  letter  just  cited.  He  assured  his 
Majesty  that  the  Cardinal  could  render  no  valuable  service  to 
the  crown  on  account  of  the  hatred  which  the  whole  nation 
bore  him,  but  that,  as  far  as  regarded  the  maintenance  of  the 
ancient  religion,  all  the  nobles  were  willing  to  do  their  duty.f 

The  Regent  now  despatched,  according  to  promise,  her  pri- 
vate secretary,  Thomas  de  Armenteros,  to  Spain.  His  instruc- 
tions^ which  were  very  elaborate,  showed  that  Grranvelle  was 
not  mistaken  when  he  charged  her  with  being  entirely  changed 
in  regard  to  him,  and  when  he  addressed  her  a  reproachful  let- 
ter, protesting  his  astonishment  that  his  conduct  had  become 
suspicious,  and  his  inability  to  divine  the  cause  of  the  weari- 
ness and  dissatisfaction  which  she  manifested  in  regard  to 
him.§ 

Armenteros,  a  man  of  low,  mercenary,  and  deceitful 
character,  but  a  favorite  of  the  Regent,  and  already  beginning 
to  acquire  that  influence  over  her  mind  which  was  soon  to 
become  so  predominant,  was  no  friend  of  the  Cardinal.  It 
was  not  probable  that  he  would  diminish  the  effect  of  that 
vague  censure  mingled  with  faint  commendation,  which  char- 
acterized  Margaret's   instructions   by  any  laudatory  sugges- 


*  "  D'autant  que  ne  sommes  point  do  nature  grans  orateurs  ou  harangueurs, 
et  plus  accoustumez  a  bien  faire  que  a  bien  dire,  comme  aussy  il  est  mieulx  seant 
a  gens  de  notre  qualite." — Ibid. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  261,  261  J  Ibid.  265-267. 

§  Dom  l'Evesque,  ii.  41-45. 

vol.  i.  25 


386  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

tions  of  his  own.  He  was  directed  to  speak  in  general  terms 
of  the  advance  of  heresy,  and  the  increasing  penury  of  the 
exchequer.  He  was  to  request  two  hundred  thousand  crowns 
toward  the  lottery,  which  the  Eegcnt  proposed  to  set  up  as  a 
financial  scheme.  He  was  to  represent  that  the  Duchess  had 
tried,  unsuccessfully,  every  conceivable  means  of  accommo- 
dating the  quarrel  between  the  Cardinal  and  the  seigniors. 
She  recognized  Granvelle's  great  capacity,  experience,  zeal, 
and  devotion — for  all  which  qualities  she  made  much  of  him 
— while  on  the  other  hand  she  felt  that  it  would  be  a  great 
inconvenience,  and  might  cause  a  revolt  of  the  country,  were 
she  to  retain  him  in  the  Netherlands  against  the  will  of  the 
seigniors.  These  motives  had  compelled  her,  the  messenger 
was  to  add,  to  place  both  views  of  the  subject  before  the  eyes 
of  the  King.  Armenteros  was,  furthermore,  to  narrate  the 
circumstances  of  the  interviews  which  had  recently  taken  place 
between  herself  and  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  party.* 

From  the  tenor  of  these  instructions,  it  was  sufficiently 
obvious  that  Margaret  of  Parma  was  not  anxious  to  retain 
the  Cardinal,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  she  was  beginning 
already  to  feel  alarm  at  the  dangerous  position  in  which 
she  found  herself.  A  few  days  after  the  three  nobles  had 
despatched  their  last  letter  to  the  King,  they  had  handed  her 
a  formal  remonstrance.  In  this  document  they  stated  their 
conviction  that  the  country  was  on  the  high  road  to  ruin,  both 
as  regarded  his  Majesty's  service  and  the  common  weal.  The 
exchequer  was  bare,  the  popular  discontent  daily  increasing, 
the  fortresses  on  the  frontier  in  a  dilapidated  condition.  It 
was  to  be  apprehended  daily  that  merchants  and  other 
inhabitants  of  the  provinces  would  be  arrested  in  foreign 
countries,  to  satisfy  the  debts  owed  by  his  Majesty.  To  pro- 
vide against  all  these  evils,  but  one  course,  it  was  suggested, 
remained  to  the  government — to  summon  the  states-general, 
and  to  rely  upon  their  counsel  and  support.  The  nobles, 
however,  forbore  to  press  this  point,  by  reason  of   the    proni- 


Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  ubi  sup. 


1563.]  REMONSTRANCE   OF   THE   THREE   SEIGNIORS.  387 

bition  which  the  Regent  had  received  from  the  King.  They 
suggested,  however,  that  such  an  interdiction  could  have  been 
dictated  only  by  a  distrust  created  between  his  Majesty  and 
the  estates  by  persons  having  no  love  for  either,  and  who 
were  determined  to  leave  no  resource  by  which  the  distress 
of  the  country  could  be  prevented.  The  nobles,  therefore, 
begged  her  highness  not  to  take  it  amiss  if,  so  long  as  the 
King  was  indisposed  to  make  other  arrangements  for  the 
administration  of  the  provinces,  they  should  abstain  from  ap- 
pearing at  the  state  council.  They  preferred  to  cause  the 
shadow  at  last  to  disappear,  which  they  had  so  long  personated. 
In  conclusion,  however,  they  expressed  their  determination  to 
do  their  duty  in  their  several  governments,  and  to  serve  the 
Regent  to  the  besc  of  their  abilities.* 

After  this  remonstrance  had  been  delivered,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  Count  Horn,  and  Count  Egmont  abstained  entirely 
from  the  sessions  of  the  state  council.  She  was  left  alone  with 
the  Cardinal,  whom  she  already  hated,  and  with  his  two 
shadows,  Viglius  and  Berlaymont. 

Armenteros,  after  a  month  spent  on  his  journey,  arrived  in 
Spain,  and  was  soon  admitted  to  an  audience  by  Philip.  In 
his  first  interview,  which  lasted  four  hours,"}"  he  read  to  the 
King  all  the  statements  and  documents  with  which  he  had 
come  provided,  and  humbly  requested  a  prompt  decision. 
Such  a  result  was  of  course  out  of  the  question.  Moreover, 
the  Cortes  of  Tarragon,  which  happened  then  to  be  in  session, 
and  which  required  the  royal  attention,  supplied  the  monarch 
with  a  fresh  excuse  for  indulging  in  his  habitual  vacillation.! 
Meantime,  by  way  of  obtaining  additional  counsel  in  so  grave 
an  emergency,  he  transmitted  the  letters  of  the  nobles,  together 
with  the  other  papers,  to  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  requested  his 
opinion  on  the  subject.§  Alva  replied  with  the  roar  of  a  wild 
beast, 


*  Hoofd,  ii.  43. — Compare  Correspondanco  do  Guill.  le  Tacit.,  ill.  50  (note  by 
M.  Gachard).  f  Strada,  iii.  130.  J  Ibid 

§  Correspondance  do  Philippe,  II.,  i.  271. 


388  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC,  [1563. 

"  Every  time,"  lie  wrote,  "  that  I  see  the  despatches  of 
those  three  Flemish  seigniors  my  rage  is  so  much  excited 
that  if  I  did  not  use  all  possible  efforts  to  restrain  it,  my  sen- 
timents would  seem  those  of  a  madman."*  After  this  spleni- 
tive  exordium  he  proceeded  to  express  the  opinion  that  all  the 
hatred  and  complaints  against  the  Cardinal  had  arisen  from 
his  opposition  to  the  convocation  of  the  states-general. 
With  regard  to  persons  who  had  so  richly  deserved  such 
chastisement,  he  recommended  "that  their  heads  should  be 
taken  off ;  but,  until  this  could  be  done,  that  the  King  should 
dissemble  with  them."  He  advised  Philip  not  to  reply  to 
their  letters,  but  merely  to  intimate,  through  the  Regent, 
that  their  reasons  for  the  course  proposed  by  them  did  not 
seem  satisfactory.  He  did  not  prescribe  this  treatment  of  the 
case  as  "  a  true  remedy,  but  only  as  a  palliative  ;  because  for  the 
moment  only  weak  medicines  could  be  employed,  from  which, 
however,  but  small  effect  could  be  anticipated,  "f  As  to  re- 
calling the  Cardinal,  "  as  they  had  the  impudence  to  propose 
to  his  Majesty,"  the  Duke  most  decidedly  advised  against 
the  step.  In  the  mean  time,  and  before  it  should  be  practi- 
cable to  proceed  "  to  that  vigorous  chastisement  already  indi- 
cated," he  advised  separating  the  nobles  as  much  as  possible 
by  administering  flattery  and  deceitful  caresses  to  Egmont, 
who  might  be  entrapped  more  easily  than  the  others. 

Here,  at  least,  was  a  man  who  knew  his  own  mind.  Here 
was  a  servant  who  could  be  relied  upon  to  do  his  master's 
bidding  whenever  this  master  should  require  his  help.  The 
vigorous  explosion  of  wrath  with  which  the  Duke  thus  re- 
sponded to  the  first  symptoms  of  what  he  regarded  as  rebel- 
lion, gave  a  feeble  intimation  of  the  tone  which  he  would 
assume   when   that   movement   should  have  reached  a  more 


*  "  Cada  vez  que  veo  los  despachos  de  aquellos  tres  senores  me  muevan  la 
colera,  de  manera  que  si  no  procurasse  mucbo  templarla,  creo  pareceria  a  V.  M.  mi 
opinion  de  hombre  frenetico,"  etc.,  etc. — G.  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  175-177. 

f  " que  no  se  pueden  aplicar  sino  medicinas  muy  flojas  y  dudando  muchc 

de  la  operacion  que  podran  hazer." — Ibid. 


1563.]  MINIATURE   PAINTING   BY   GRANVELLE.  389 

advanced  stage.  It  might  be  guessed  what  kind  of  remedies 
he  would  one  day  prescribe  in  place  of  the  "  mild  medicines" 
in  which  he  so  reluctantly  acquiesced  for  the  present. 

While  this  had  been  the  course  pursued  by  the  seigniors, 
the  Regent  and  the  King,  in  regard  to  that  all-absorbing  sub- 
ject of  Netherland  politics — the  struggle  against  Granvelle — 
the  Cardinal,  in  his  letters  to  Philip,  had  been  painting  the 
situation  by  minute  daily  touches,  in  a  manner  of  which  his 
pencil  alone  possessed  the  secret. 

Still  maintaining  the  attitude  of  an  injured  but  forgiving 
Christian,  he  spoke  of  the  nobles  in  a  tone  of  gentle  sorrow. 
He  deprecated  any  rising  of  the  royal  wrath  in  his  behalf ; 
he  would  continue  to  serve  the  gentlemen,  whether  they 
would  or  no  ;  he  was  most  anxious  lest  any  considerations 
on  his  account  should  interfere  with  the  Kind's  decision  in 
regard  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  Netherlands. 
At  the  same  time,  notwithstanding  these  general  profes- 
sions of  benevolence  towards  the  nobles,  he  represented  them 
as  broken  spendthrifts,  wishing  to  create  general  confu- 
sion in  order  to  escape  from  personal  liabilities  ;  as  conspira- 
tors who  had  placed  themselves  within  the  reach  of  the 
attorney-general  ;*  as  ambitious  malcontents  who  were  dis- 
posed to  overthrow  the  royal  authority,  and  to  substitute  an 
aristocratic  republic  upon  its  ruins.  He  would  say  nothing  to 
prejudice  the  King's  mind  against  these  gentlemen,  but  he 
took  care  to  omit  nothing  which  could  possibly  accomplish 
that  result.  He  described  them  as  systematically  opposed 
to  the  policy  which  he  knew  lay  nearest  the  King's  heart, 
and  as  determined  to  assassinate  the  faithful  minister  who  was 
so  resolutely  carrying  it  out,  if  his  removal  could  be  effected 
in  no  other  way.  He  spoke  of  the  state  of  religion  as  be- 
coming more  and  more  unsatisfactory,  and  bewailed  the  diffi- 
culty with  which  he  could  procure  the  burning  of  heretics  ; 
difficulties  originating  in  the  reluctance  of  men  from  whose 
elevated  rank  better  things  might  have  been  expected. 


Papicrs  d'Etat,  vii.  18,  19,  sqq. 


390  THE    KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

As  G-ranvelle  is  an  important  personage,  as  his  character 
has  been  alternately  the  subject  of  much  censure  and  of  more 
applause,  and  as  the  epoch  now  described  was  the  one  in  which 
the  causes  of  the  great  convulsion  were  rapidly  germinating,  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  reader  should  be  placed  in  a  po- 
sition to  study  the  main  character,  as  painted  by  his  own  hand  ; 
the  hand  in  which  were  placed,  at  that  moment,  the  destinies 
of  a  mighty  empire.  It  is  the  historian's  duty,  therefore,  to 
hang  the  picture  of  his  administration  fully  in  the  light.  At 
the  moment  when  the  11th  of  March  letter  was  despatched, 
the  Cardinal  represented  Orange  and  Egmont  as  endeavoring 
by  every  method  of  menace  or  blandishment  to  induce  all  the 
grand  seigniors  and  petty  nobles  to  join  in  the  league  against 
himself.  They  had  quarrelled  with  Aerschot  and  Aremberg, 
they  had  more  than  half  seduced  Berlaymont,  and  they  stigma- 
tized all  who  refused  to  enter  into  their  league  as  cardinalists 
and  familiars  of  the  inquisition.*  He  protested  that  he  should 
regard  their  ill-will  with  indifference,  were  he  not  convinced 
that  he  was  himself  only  a  j>retext,  and  that  their  designs  were 
really  much  deeper. f  Since  the  return  of  Montigny,  the  seig- 
niors had  established  a  league  which  that  gentleman  and  his 
brother,  Count  Horn,  had  both  joined.  He  would  say  nothing 
concerning  the  defamatory  letters  and  pamphlets  of  which  ho 
was  the  constant  object,  for  he  wished  no  heed  taken  of 
matters  which  concerned  exclusively  himself.  Notwith- 
standing this  disclaimer,  however,  he  rarely  omitted  to  note 
the  appearance  of  all  such  productions  for  his  Majesty's  es- 
pecial information.  "  It  was  better  to  calm  men's  spirits,"  he 
said,  "  than  to  excite  them."  As  to  fostering  quarrels  among 
the  seigniors,  as  the  King  had  recommended,  that  was 
hardly  necessary,  for  discord  was  fast  sowing  its  own  seeds. 
"It  gave  him  much  pain,"  he  said,  with  a  Christian  sigh, 
"  to  observe  that  such  dissensions  had  already  arisen,  and 
unfortunately  on  his  account."^     He  then  proceeded  circum- 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  5,  11-21 ;  18,  19,  sqq.  f  Ibid. 

X  "  Pero  pesa  mo  que  la  primera  causa  tomo  fundamento  bobre  lo  que  me  toca." 
—Ibid. 


1563.]  INSINUATIONS   AND    EXHORTATIONS.  391 

stantially  to  describe  the  quarrel  between  Aerschot  and  Eg- 
mont,  already  narrated  by  the  Kegent,  omitting  in  his  state- 
ment no  particular  which  could  make  Egmont  reprehensible  in 
the  royal  eyes.  He  likewise  painted  the  quarrel  between  the 
same  noble  and  Aremberg,  to  which  he  had  already  alluded  in 
previous  letters  to  the  King,  adding  that  many  gentlemen, 
and  even  the  more  prudent  part  of  the  people,  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  course  of  the  grandees,  and  that  he  was  taking 
underhand  but  dexterous  means  to  confirm  them  in  such 
sentiments.*  He  instructed  Philip  how  to  reply  to  the  letter 
addressed  to  him,  but  begged  his  Majesty  not  to  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  him  if  the  interests  of  his  crown  should  seem  to  re- 
quire it.f 

With  regard  to  religious  matters,  he  repeatedly  deplored 
that,  notwithstanding  his  own  exertions  and  those  of  Madame 
de  Parma,  things  were  not  going  on  as  he  desired,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  very  badly — "  For  the  love  of  God  and  the  service  of 
the  holy  religion,"  he  cried  out  fervently,  "  put  your  royal 
hand  valiantly  to  the  work,  otherwise  we  have  only  to  ex- 
claim, Help,  Lord,  for  we  perish  !"$  Having  uttered  this  pious 
exhortation  in  the  ear  of  a  man  who  needed  no  stimulant  in 
the  path  of  persecution,  he  proceeded  to  express  his  regrets  that 
the  judges  and  other  officers  were  not  taking  in  hand  the  chas- 
tisement of  heresy  with  becoming  vigor.  § 

Yet,  at  that  very  moment  Peter  Titelmann  was  raging 
through  Flanders,  tearing  whole  families  out  of  bed  and  burn- 
ing them  to  ashes,  with  such  utter  disregard  to  all  laws  or 
forms  as  to  provoke  in  the  very  next  year  a  solemn  protest  from 
the  four  estates  of  Flanders  ;  and  Titelmann  was  but  one  of  a 
dozen  inquisitors. 

G-ranvelle,  however,  could  find  little  satisfaction  in  the  exer- 
tions of  subordinates  so  long  as  men  in  high  station  were  remiss 
in  their  duties.  The  Marquis  Berghen,  he  informed  Philip, 
showed  but  little  disposition  to  put  down  heresy  in  Valen- 


°  T  jo  procure  diestramente  y  so  mano  de  informarlos  como  conviene."  etc.-^ 
Ibid.  f  Ibid.  \  Papiera  d'Etat,  vii.  83.  §  Ibid,  vii.  33. 


392  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

ciennes,  while  Montigny  was  equally  remiss  at  Tournay.*  They 
were  often  heard  to  say,  to  any  who  chose  to  listen,  that  it  was 
not  right  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  for  matters  of  reli- 
gion.f  This  sentiment,  uttered  in  that  age  of  "blood  and  fire,  and 
crowning  the  memory  of  those  unfortunate  nobles  with  eternal 
honor,  was  denounced  by  the  churchman  as  criminal,  and  deserv- 
ing of  castigation.  He  intimated,  moreover,  that  these  pretences 
of  clemency  were  mere  hypocrisy,  and  that  self-interest  was  at 
the  bottom  of  their  compassion.  "  'Tis  very  black,"  said  he,| 
"  when  interest  governs  ;  but  these  men  are  all  in  debt,  so  deeply 
that  they  owe  their  very  souls.  They  are  seeking  every  means  of 
escaping  from  their  obligations,  and  are  most  desirous  of  creating 
general  confusion."  As  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the  Cardinal 
asserted  that  he  owed  nine  hundred  thousand  florins,  and  had 
hardly  twenty-five  thousand  a-year  clear  income,  while  he  sj>ent 
ninety  thousand,  having  counts,  barons,  and  gentlemen  in  great 
numbers,  in  his  household. §  At  this  point,  he  suggested  that 
it  might  be  well  to  find  employment  for  some  of  these  grandees 
in  Spain  and  other  dominions  of  his  Majesty,  adding  that  per- 
haps Orange  might  accept  the  viceroyalty  of  Sicily.  || 

Kesuming  the  religious  matter,  a  few  weeks  later,  he  ex- 
pressed himself  a  little  more  cheerfully,  "  We  have  made  so 
much  outcry,"  said  he,  "  that  at  last  Marquis  Berghen 
has  been  forced  to  burn  a  couple  of  heretics  at  Valenciennes. 
Thus,  it  is  obvious,"  moralized  the  Cardinal,  "  that  if  he  were 
really  willing  to  apply  the  remedy  in  that  place,  much  progress 
might  be  made  ;  but  that  we  can  do  but  little  so  long  as  he 
remains  in  the  government  of  the  provinces  and  refuses  to 
assist  us."^[     In  a  subsequent  letter,  he  again  uttered  com- 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  45-51.  t  Ibid 

\  "  Y  es  la  negraquando  domina  el  interesse  y  no  me  espanto  que  deven  to- 
dos  e!  alma  y  cada  dia  gastan  mas,"  etc.,  etc. — Ibid.  §  Ibid. 

\  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  51. 

^[  " y  se  ha  gridado  tanto  que  al  cabo  el  Marques  de  Berghos  ha  hecho 

quemar  dos   hereges  en  Valencianes  sin  ruydo  que  si  de  veras  se  quiriesse 

atender  el  remedio  de  aquella  tierra  mucho  se  podria  aprovechar;  pero  no  lo  pod- 
remos  hazer  mientras  esta  en  quel  govierno  si  el  no  quiere  ny  de  otra  manera  que 
por  su  meno." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  69. 


1563.]  the  cardinal's  scapegoats.  393 

plaints  against  the  Marquis  and  Montigny,  who  were  ever- 
more his  scapegoats  and  bugbears.  Berghen  will  give  us  no 
aid,  he  wrote,  despite  of  all  the  letters  we  send  him.  He  ab- 
sents himself  for  private  and  political  reasons.  Montigny  has 
eaten  meat  in  Lent,  as  the  Bishop  of  Tournay  informs  me.* 
Both  he  and  the  Marquis  say  openly  that  it  is  not  right  to  shed 
blood  for  matters  of  faith,  so  that  the  King  can  judge  how 
much  can  be  effected  with  such  coadjutors."}"  Berghen  avoids 
the  persecution  of  heretics,  wrote  the  Cardinal  again,  a  month 
later,  to  Secretary  Perez.  He  has  gone  to  Spa  for  his  health, 
although  those  who  saw  him  last  say  he  is  fat  and  hearty.^ 
Granvelle  added,  however,  that  they  had  at  last  "  burned  one 
more  preacher  alive."  The  heretic,  he  stated,  had  feigned  re- 
pentance to  save  his  life,  but  finding  that,  at  any  rate,  his 
Aead  would  be  cut  off  as  a  dogmatizer,  he  retracted  his  recan- 
tation. "  So,"  concluded  the  Cardinal,  complacently,  "  they 
burned  him."§ 

He  chronicled  the  sayings  and  doings  of  the  principal  per- 
sonages in  the  Netherlands,  for  the  instruction  of  the  King, 
with  great  regularity,  insinuating  suspicions  when  unable  to 
furnish  evidence,  and  adding  charitable  ajDologies,  which  he 
knew  would  have  but  small  effect  upon  the  mind  of  his 
correspondent.  Thus  he  sent  an  account  of  a  "  very  secret 
meeting"  held  by  Orange,  Egmont,  Horn,  Montigny  and 
Berghen,  at  the  abbey  of  La  Forest,  ||  near  Brussels,  add- 
ing, that  he  did  not  know  what  they  had  been  doing  there, 
and  was  at  loss  what  to  suspect.  He  would  be  most  happy, 
he  said,  to  put  the  best  interpretation  upon  their  actions, 
but  he  could  not  help  remembering  with  great  sorrow  the  ob- 
servation so  recently  made  by  Orange  to  Montigny,  that  one 
day  they  should  be  stronger.  Later  in  the  year,  the  Cardinal 
informed  the  King  that  the  same  nobles  were  holding  a  con- 
ference at  Weerdt,  that  he  had  not  learned  what  had  been 


*  Papiers  d'Etat  vii.  T5.  -f  Ibid. 

%  "  Bueno  y  gordo."— Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  105. 

§  "  Y  assi  le  queraaron."— Ibid,  fl  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  69. 


394  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

transacted  there,  but  thought  the  affair  very  suspicious.* 
Philip  immediately  communicated  the  intelligence  to  Alva, 
together  with  an  expression  of  G-ranvelle's  fears  and  of  his 
own,  that  a  popular  outbreak  would  be  the  consequence  of  the 
continued  presence  of  the  minister  in  the  Netherlands.f 

The  Cardinal  omitted  nothing  in  the  way  of  anecdote  or 
inuendo,  which  could  injure  the  character  of  the  leading  nobles, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Count  Egmont.  With  this 
important  personage,  whose  character  he  well  understood,  he 
seemed  determined,  if  possible,  to  maintain  friendly  relations. 
There  was  a  deep  policy  in  this  desire,  to  which  we  shall  ad- 
vert hereafter.  The  other  seigniors  were  described  in  general 
terms  as  disposed  to  overthrow  the  royal  authority.  They 
were  bent  upon  Granvelle's  downfall  as  the  first  step,  because, 
that  being  accomplished,  the  rest  would  follow  as  a  matter  of 
course.^  "  They  intend,"  said  he,  "  to  reduce  the  state  into 
the  form  of  a  republic,  in  which  the  King  shall  have  no  power 
except  to  do  their  bidding."§  He  added,  that  he  saw  with 
regret  so  many  German  troops  gathering  on  the  borders  ;  for 
he  believed  them  to  be  in  the  control  of  the  disaffected  nobles 
of  the  Netherlands.  ||  Having  made  this  grave  insinuation,  he 
proceeded  in  the  same  breath  to  express  his  anger  at  a  state- 
ment said  to  have  been  made  by  Orange  and  Egmont,  to  the 
effect  that  he  had  charged  them  with  intending  to  excite  a 
civil  commotion,  an  idea,  he  added,  which  had  never  entered 
his  head.^[  In  the  same  paragraph,  he  poured  into  the  most 
suspicious  ear  that  ever  listened  to  a  tale  of  treason,  his  con- 
viction that  the  nobles  were  planning  a  republic  by  the  aid  of 
foreign  troops,  and  uttered  a  complaint  that  these  nobles  had 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  266.     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  275. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  277. 

\  "  Quieren  dar  en  mi  primero  porque  hecho  esto  va  lo  demas  su  passo." — 
Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  167. 

§  "  T  querrian  reduzir  esto  en  forma  de  republica,  en  la  qual  no  pudiesse  el 
Rey  sino  que  ellos  quisiessen." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  165. 

I  Ibid. — Compare  G.  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc. ;  supplement,  14-16. 

^[  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  167. — "  Procuravan  de  levantar  estos  pueblos lo 

quele  jamas  me  passo  por  consamiento." 


1563.]  DEADLY    POISON    AND    FEEBLE    ANTIDOTES.  395 

accused  him  of  suspecting  them.  As  for  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
he  was  described  as  eternally  boasting  of  his  influence  in  Ger- 
many, and  the  great  things  which  he  could  effect  by  means 
of  his  connexions  there,  "  so  that,"  added  the  Cardinal,  "  we 
hear  no  other  song." 

He  had  much  to  say  concerning  the  projects  of  these 
grandees  to  abolish  all  the  councils,  but  that  of  state,  of  which 
body  they  intended  to  obtain  the  entire  control.  Marquis 
Berghen  was  represented  as  being  at  the  bottom  of  all  these 
intrigues.  The  general  and  evident  intention  was  to  make  a 
thorough  change  in  the  form  of  government.*  The  Marquis 
meant  to  command  in  every  thing,  and  the  Duchess  would  soon 
have  nothing  to  do  in  the  provinces  as  regent  for  the  King. 
In  fact,  Philip  himself  would  be  equally  powerless,  "  for,"  said 
the  Cardinal,  "  they  will  have  succeeded  in  putting  your 
Majesty  completely  under  guardianship/'^  He  added,  more- 
over, that  the  seigniors,  in  order  to  gain  favor  with  the  people 
and  with  the  estates,  had  allowed  them  to  acquire  so  much 
power,  that  they  would  respond  to  any  request  for  subsidies 
by  a  general  popular  revolt.  "  This  is  the  simple  truth," 
said  Cranvelle,  "and  moreover,  by  the  same  process,  in  a 
very  few  days  there  will  likewise  be  no  religion  left  in  the 
land.":j:  When  the  deputies  of  some  of  the  states,  a  few 
weeks  later,  had  been  irregularly  convened  in  Brussels,  for 
financial  purposes,  the  Cardinal  informed  the  monarch  that 
the  nobles  were  endeavoring  to  conciliate  their  good-will,  by 
offering  them  a  splendid  series  of  festivities  and  banquets. 

He  related  various  anecdotes  which  came  to  his  ears  from 
time  to  time,  all  tending  to  excite  suspicions  as  to  the  loyalty 
and  orthodoxy  of  the  principal  nobles.  A  gentleman  coming 
from  Burgundy  had  lately,  as  he  informed  the  King,  been 
dining  with  the  Prince  of  Orange,  with  whom  Horn  and 
Montigny   were    then   lodging.      At   table,    Montigny   called 


*  "  En  fin  el  punto  e3  que  querrian  mudar  esta  forma  de  govierno." — Papiera 
d'Etat,  vii.  186,  187. 

|  " pues  havrian  acabado  de  poner  la  en  tutela." — Ibid.  $  Ibid 


396  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

out  in  a  very  loud  voice  to  the  strange  cavalier,  who  was 
seated  at  a  great  distance  from  him,  to  ask  if  there  were  many 
Huguenots  in  Burgundy.  No,  replied  the  gentleman,  nor 
would  they  be  permitted  to  exist  there.  Then  there  can  he 
very  few  people  of  intelligence  in  that  province,  returned 
Montigny,  for  those  who  have  any  wit  are  mostly  all 
Huguenots.*  The  Prince  of  Orange  here  endeavored  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  conversation,  saying  that  the  Burgundians  were 
very  right  to  remain  as  they  were  ;  upon  which  Montigny 
affirmed  that  he  had  heard  masses  enough  lately  to  last  him 
for  three  months.f  These  things  may  be  jests,  commented 
Granvelle,  but  they  are  very  bad  ones  ;  +  and  'tis  evident  that 
such  a  man  is  an  improper  instrument  to  remedy  the  state  of 
religious  affairs  in  Tournay. 

At  another  large  party,  the  King  was  faithfully  informed 
by  the  same  chronicler,§  that  Marquis  Berghen  had  been 
teasing  the  Duke  of  Aerschot  very  maliciously,  because  he  would 
not  join  the  league.  The  Duke  had  responded  as  he  had  form- 
erly done  to  Egmont,  that  his  Majesty  was  not  to  receive 
laws  from  his  vassals  ;  adding  that,  for  himself,  he  meant  to 
follow  in  the  loyal  track  of  his  ancestors,  fearing  Grod  and 
honoring  the  king.  In  short,  said  Granvelle,  he  answered 
them  with  so  much  wisdom,  that  although  they  had  never  a 
high  opinion  of  his  capacity,  they  were  silenced.  This  conver- 
sation had  been  going  on  before  all  the  servants,  the  Marquis 
being  especially  vociferous,  although  the  room  was  quite  full 
of  them.  As  soon  as  the  cloth  was  removed,  and  while  some 
of  the  lackies  still  remained,  Berghen  had  resumed  the  conver- 
sation. He  said  he  was  of  the  same  mind  as  his  ancestor, 
John  of  Berghen,  had  been,  who  had  once  told  the  King's 
grandfather,  Philiji  the  Fair,  that  if  his  Majesty  was  bent  on 
his  own  perdition,  he  had  no  disposition  to  ruin  himself.  If 
the  present  monarch  means  to  lose  these  provinces  by 
governing    them    as    he    did     govern    them,    the    Marquis 


*  Papers  d'Etat,  vii.  lSY,  183.  •  f  Ibid. 

%  "'  Devian  de  ser  burlas  pero  malas  me  parecen." — Ibid. 
§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  190-194 


1563.]  berghen's  imprudence.  397 

affirmed  that  he  had  no  wish  to  lose  the  little  property  that  he 
himself  possessed  in  the  country.  "  But  if,"  argued  the 
Duke  of  Aerschot,  "  the  King  absolutely  refuse  to  do  what  you 
demand  of  him  ;  what  then  ?"  "Par  la  cordieu  !"  responded 
Berghen,  in  a  rage,  "  we  will  let  him  see  !"  whereupon  all 
became  silent.* 

Granvelle  implored  the  King  to  keep  these  things  entirely 
to  himself ;  adding  that  it  was  quite  necessary  for  his  Majesty 
to  learn  in  this  manner  what  were  the  real  dispositions  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  provinces.  It  was  also  stated  in  the 
same  letter,  that  a  ruffian  Genoese,  who  had  been  ordered 
out  of  the  Netherlands  by  the  Begent,  because  of  a  homicide 
he  had  committed,  was  kept  at  Weert,  by  Count  Horn,  for 
the  purpose  of  murdering  the  Cardinal."}" 

He  affirmed  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  request  the  expul- 
sion of  the  assassin  from  the  Count's  house  ;  but  that  he 
would  take  care,  nevertheless,  that  neither  this  ruffian  nor  any 
other,  should  accomplish  his  purpose.  A  few  weeks  after- 
wards, expressing  his  joy  at  the  contradiction  of  a  report  that 
Philip  had  himself  been  assassinated,  Granvelle  added  ;  "  I  too, 
who  am  but  a  worm  in  comparison,  am  threatened  on  so  many 
sides,  that  many  must  consider  me  already  dead.  Never- 
theless, I  will  endeavor,  with  God's  hel]->,  to  live  as  long  as  I  can, 
and  if  they  kill  me,  I  hope  they  will  not  gain  every  tbing."J 
Yet,  with  characteristic  Jesuitism,  the  Cardinal  could  not 
refrain,  even  in  the  very  letter  in  which  he  detailed  the 
rebellious  demonstrations  of  Berghen,  and  the  murderous 
schemes  of  Horn,  to  protest  that  he  did  not  say  these  things 
"to  prejudice  his  Majesty  against  any  one,  but  only  that  it 
might  be  known  to  what  a  height  the  impudence  was 
rising."§  Certainly  the  King  and  the  ecclesiastic,  like  the 
Boman  soothsayers,  would  have  laughed  in  each  other's  face, 


*  "'Que  seria?'  respondio  el  Marques  eon  colera.  '  par  la  cordieu,  nous  luy 
ferons  voir!'  Sobre  que  callaron  todos." — Ibid. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  190-194.  %  Corrcspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  284. 

§  "  No  digo  esto  parer  alterar  a  V.  M.  contra  nadie,  mas  solo  paraque  conosca 
que  crece  la  desverguen<;a,"ect. — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  190-194. 


398  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

could  they  have  met,  over  the  hollowness  of  such  demonstra- 
tions. Granvelle's  letters  were  rilled,  for  the  greater  part,  with 
pictures  of  treason,  stratagem,  and  bloody  intentions,  fabri- 
cated mostly  out  of  reports,  table-talk,  disjointed  chat  in  the 
careless  freedom  of  domestic  intercourse,  while  at  the  same  time 
a  margin  was  always  left  to  express  his  own  wounded  sense  of 
the  injurious  suspicions  uttered  against  him  by  the  various 
subjects  of  his  letters.  "God  knows,"  said  he  to  Perez, 
"  that  I  always  speak  of  them  with  respect,  which  is  more  than 
they  do  of  me.  But  God  forgive  them  all.  In  times  like 
these,  one  must  hold  one's  tongue.  One  must  keep  still,  in 
order  not  to  stir  up  a  hornet's  nest."*' 

In  short,  the  Cardinal,  little  by  little,  during  the  last  year 
of  his  residence  in  the  Netherlands,  was  enabled  to  spread  a 
canvas  before  his  sovereign's  eye,  in  which  certain  promi- 
nent figures,  highly  colored  by  patiently  accumulated  touches, 
were  represented  as  driving  a  whole  nation,  against  its  own 
will,  into  manifest  revolt.  The  estates  and  the  people,  he 
said,  were  already  tired  of  the  proceedings  of  the  nobles, 
and  those  personages  would  find  themselves  very  much  mis- 
taken in  thinking  that  men  who  had  any  thing  to  lose  would 
follow  them,  when  they  began  a  rebellion  against  his  Majesty. f 
On  the  whole,  he  was  not  desirous  of  prolonging  his  own 
residence,  although,  to  do  him  justice,  he  was  not  influenced 
by  fear.  He  thought  or  affected  to  think  that  the  situation 
was  one  of  a  factitious  popular  discontent,  procured  by  the 
intrigues  of  a  few  ambitious  and  impoverished  Catilines  and 
Cethegi,  not  a  rising  rebellion  such  as  the  world  had  never 
seen,  born  of  the  slowly-awakened  wrath  of  a  whole  people, 
after  the  martyrdom  of  many  years.  The  remedy  that  he 
recommended  was  that  his  Majesty  should  come  in  person  to 
the  provinces.  The  monarch  would  cure  the  whole  disorder 
as  soon  as  he  appeared,  said  the  Cardinal,  by  merely  making  the 


*  Oorrespondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  291. — "Por  no  irritar  crabrones." 
f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  264. 


1563.]  TfiE    MOEAL    POINTED.  399 

sign  of  the  cross.*  Whether,  indeed,  the  rapidly-increasing 
cancer  of  national  discontent  would  prove  a  mere  king's  evil, 
to  be  healed  by  the  royal  touch,  as  many  persons  besides 
Granvelle  believed,  was  a  point  not  doomed  to  be  tested.  From 
that  day  forward  Philip  began  to  hold  out  hopes  that  he  would 
come  to  administer  the  desired  remedy,  but  even  then  it  was 
the  opinion  of  good  judges  that  he  would  give  millions  rather 
than  make  his  appearance  in  the  Netherlands.^  It  was  even 
the  hope  of  William  of  Orange  that  the  King  would  visit  the 
provinces.  He  expressed  his  desire,  in  a  letter  to  Lazarus 
Schwendi,  that  his  sovereign  should  come  in  person,  that  he 
might  see  whether  it  had  been  right  to  sow  so  much  distrust 
between  himself  and  his  loyal  subjects.^  The  Prince  asserted 
that  it  was  impossible  for  any  person  not  on  the  spot  to 
imagine  the  falsehoods  and  calumnies  circulated  by  Granvelle 
and  his  friends,  accusing  Orange  and  his  associates  of  rebellion 
and  heresy,  in  the  most  infamous  manner  in  the  world.  He 
added,  in  conclusion,  that  he  could  write  no  more,  for  the  mere 
thought  of  the  manner  in  which  the  government  of  the 
Netherlands  was  carried  on  filled  him  with  disgust  and  rage.§ 
This  letter,  together  with  one  in  a  similar  strain  from  Egmont, 
was  transmitted  by  the  valiant  and  highly  intellectual  soldier 
to  whom  they  were  addressed,  to  the  King  of  Spain,  with  an 
entreaty  that  he  would  take  warning  from  the  bitter  truths 
which  they  contained.  The  Colonel,  who  was  a  most  trusty 
friend  of  Orange,  wrote  afterwards  to  Margaret  of  Parma  in 
the  same  spirit,  warmly  urging  her  to  moderation  in  religious 
matters.  This  application  highly  enraged  Morillon,  the 
Cardinal's  most  confidential  dependent,  who  accordingly 
conveyed  the  intelligence  to  his  already  departed  chief,  ex- 
claiming in  his  letter,  "what  does  the  ungrateful  baboon 
mean  by  meddling  with  our  affairs  ?  A  pretty  state  of 
things,  truly,  if  kings  are  to  choose  or  retain  their  ministers 


*  "  Y  con  su  presencia  se  podrian   remediar  sanctiguando." — Papicrs  d'Etat, 
vil  264.  f  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  184. 

;£  Ibid  §  Correspondance  de  Philippe  IT.,  i    290. 


400  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

at  the  will  of  the  people  ;  little  does  he  know  of  the  disasters 
which  would  be  caused  by  a  relaxation  of  the  edicts."0  In  the 
same  sense,  the  Cardinal,  just  before  his  departure,  which  was 
now  imminent,  wrote  to  warn  his  sovereign  of  the  seditious 
character  of  the  men  who  were  then  placing  their  breasts 
between  the  people  and  their  butchers.  He  assured  Philip 
that  upon  the  movement  of  those  nobles  depended  the  whole 
existence  of  the  country.  It  was  time  that  they  should  be 
made  to  open  their  eyes.  They  should  be  solicited  in  every 
way  to  abandon  their  evil  courses,  since  the  liberty  which  they 
thought  themselves  defending  was  but  abject  slavery  ;  but 
subjection  to  a  thousand  base  and  contemptible  personages, 
and  to  that  "vile  animal  called  the  people."f 

It  is  sufficiently  obvious,  from  the  picture  which  we  have 
now  presented  of  the  respective  attitudes  of  Granvelle,  of  the 
seigniors  and  of  the  nation,  during  the  whole  of  the  year 
1563,  and  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  that  a  crisis 
was  fast  approaching.  Granvelle  was,  for  the  moment, 
triumphant,  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn  had  abandoned  the 
state  council,  Philip  could  not  yet  make  up  his  mind  to  yield 
to  the  storm,  and  Alva  howled  defiance  at  the  nobles  and  the 
whole  people  of  the  Netherlands.  Nevertheless,  Margaret  of 
Parma  was  utterly  weary  of  the  minister,  the  Cardinal  himself 
was  most  anxious  to  be  gone,  and  the  nation — for  there  was  a 
nation,  however  vile  the  animal  might  be — was  becoming 
daily  more  enraged  at  the  presence  of  a  man  in  whom,  whether 
justly  or  falsely,  it  beheld  the  incarnation  of  the  religious  op- 
pression under  which  they  groaned.  Meantime,  at  the  close 
of  the  year,  a  new  incident  came  to  add  to  the  gravity  of  the 
situation.  Caspar  Schetz,  Baron  of  Grobbendonck,  gave  a 
great  dinner-party,  in  the  month  of  December,  1563.+  This 
personage,  whose  name  was  prominent  for  many  years  in  the 
public  affairs  of  the  nation,  was  one  of  the  four  brothers  who 
formed  a  very  opulent  and  influential  mercantile  establishment. 


*  "  De  quoi  se  mesle  cet  ingrat  beboin."  etc. — Papiere  d'Etat,  viii.  427. 
f  Papiera  d'Etat,  vii.  367-  %  Hoofd,  i.  39. 


1563.]  grobbendonck's  dinner.  401 

He  was  the  King's  principal  factor  and  financial  agent.  He 
was  one  of  the  great  pillars  of  the  Bourse  at  Antwerp.  He 
was  likewise  a  tolerable  scholar,  a  detestable  poet,  an  intriguing 
politician,  and  a  corrupt  financier.  He  was  regularly  in 
the  pay  of  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  to  whom  he  furnished  secret 
information,  for  whom  he  procured  differential  favors,  and  by 
whose  government  he  was  rewarded  by  gold  chains  and  presents 
of  hard  cash,  bestowed  as  secretly  as  the  equivalent  was  con- 
veyed adroitly.*  Nevertheless,  although  his  venality  was 
already  more  than  suspected,  and  although  his  peculations 
durino-  his  long;  career  became  so  extensive  that  he  was  event- 
ually  prosecuted  by  government,  and  died  before  the  process 
was  terminated,  the  lord  of  Grobbendonck  was  often  employed 
in  most  delicate  negotiations,  and,  at  the  present  epoch,  was  a 
man  of  much  importance  in  the  Netherlands. 

The  treasurer-general  accordingly  gave  his  memorable 
banquet  to  a  distinguished  party  of  noblemen.  The  conver- 
sation, during  dinner,  turned,  as  was  inevitable,  upon  the 
Cardinal.  His  ostentation,  greediness,  insolence,  were  fully 
canvassed.  The  wine  flowed  freely  as  it  always  did  in  those 
Flemish  festivities— the  brains  of  the  proud  and  reckless 
cavaliers  became  hot  with  excitement,  while  still  the  odious 
ecclesiastic  was  the  topic  of  their  conversation,  the  object 
alternately  of  fierce  invective  or  of  scornful  mirth.  The 
pompous  display  which  he  affected  in  his  equipages,  liveries, 
and  all  the  appurtenances  of  his  household,  had  frequently 
excited  their  derision,  and  now  afforded  fresh  matter  for  their 
ridicule.  The  customs  of  Germany,  the  simple  habiliments  in 
which  the  retainers  of  the  greatest  houses  were  arrayed  in 
that  country,  were  contrasted  with  the  tinsel  and  glitter  in 
which  the  prelate  pranked  himself.  It  was  proposed,  by  way 
of  showing  contempt  for  Granvelle,  that  a  livery  should  be 
forthwith  invented,  as  different  as  possible  from  his  in  general 
effect,  and  that  all  the  gentlemen  present  should  indiscrimin- 
ately adopt  it  for  their  own  menials.     Thus  would  the  people 


*  Burgon,  365,  36G,  367 
vol.  i.  26 


402  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1563. 

whom  the  Cardinal  wished  to  dazzle  with  his  finery  learn  to 
estimate  such  gauds  at  their  true  value.  It  was  determined 
that  something  extremely  plain,  and  in  the  German  fashion, 
should  he  selected.  At  the  same  time,  the  company,  now 
thoroughly  inflamed  with  wine,  and  possessed  hy  the  spirit  of 
mockery,  determined  that  a  symbol  should  be  added  to  the 
livery,  by  which  the  universal  contempt  for  Granvelle  should 
be  expressed.  The  proposition  was  hailed  with  acclamation, 
but  who  should  invent  the  hieroglyphical  costume  ?  All  were 
reckless  and  ready  enough,  but  ingenuity  of  device  was 
required.  At  last  it  was  determined  to  decide  the  question  by 
hazard.  Amid  shouts  of  hilarity,  the  dice  were  thrown. 
Those  men  were  staking  their  lives,  perhaps,  upon  the  issue, 
but  the  reflection  gave  only  a  keener  zest  to  the  game.  Egmont 
won.*  It  was  the  most  fatal  victory  which  he  had  ever 
achieved,  a  more  deadly  prize  even  than  the  trophies  of  St. 
Quentin  and  Gravelingen. 

In  a  few  days  afterwards,  the  retainers  of  the  house  of 
Egmont  surprised  Brussels  by  making  their  appearance  in  a 
new  livery.  Doublet  and  hose  of  the  coarsest  grey,  and  long 
hanging  sleeves,  without  gold  or  silver  lace,  and  having  but  a 
single  ornament,  comprised  the  whole  costume.  An  emblem 
which  seemed  to  resemble  a  monk's  cowl,  or  a  fool's  cap  and 
bells,  was  embroidered  upon  each  sleeve.  The  device  pointed 
at  the  Cardinal,  as  did,  by  contrast,  the  affected  coarseness  of 
the  dress.  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
hood,  but  they  who  saw  in  the  symbol  more  resemblance  to 
the  jester's  cap,  recalled  certain  biting  expressions  which 
Granvelle  had  been  accustomed  to  use.  He  had  been  wont, 
in  the  days  of  his  greatest  insolence,  to  speak  of  the  most 
eminent  nobles  as  zanies,  lunatics,  and  buffoons.  The  em- 
broidered fool's  cap  was  supposed  to  typify  the  gibe,  and  to 
remind  the  arrogant  priest  that  a  Brutus,  as  in  the  olden  time, 
might  be  found  lurking  in  the  costume  of  the  fool.f  How- 
ever witty   or  appropriate  the  invention,  the   livery  had   an 


Hoofd,  i.  39,  40.     Strada,  iv.  132,  133.     Bentivoglio,  i.  17.  f  Strada. 


1563.]  the  fool's-cap  livery.  403 

immense  success.     According  to  agreement,  the   nobles  who 
had  dined  with  the  treasurer  ordered  it  for  all  their  serv- 
ants.    Never  did  a  new  dress  become   so  soon  the  fashion. 
The  unpopularity  of  the  minister  assisted  the  quaintness  of 
the  device.     The  fool's-cap  livery  became  the  rage.     Never 
was  such  a  run  upon  the  haberdashers,  mercers,  and  tailors, 
since  Brussels  had  been  a  city.     All  the  frieze-cloth  in   Bra- 
bant was  exhausted.     All  the  serge  in  Flanders  was  clipped 
into  monastic  cowls.     The  Duchess  at  first  laughed  with  the 
rest,  but  the  Cardinal  took  care  that  the  king  should  be  at 
once  informed  upon  the  subject.     The  Eegent  was,  perhaps, 
not  extremely  sorry  to  see  the  man  ridiculed  whom  she  so 
cordially  disliked,  and  she  accepted  the  careless  excuses  made 
on  the  subject  by  Egmont  and   by  Orange  without   severe 
criticism.     She  wrote  to  her  brother  that,  although  the  gen- 
tlemen had  been  influenced  by  no  evil  intention,  she  had 
thought  it  best  to  exhort  them  not  to  push  the  jest  too 
far.*     Already,  however,  she  found  that  two  thousand  pairs 
of  sleevesf  had  been  made,  and  the  most  she  could  obtain 
was  that  the  fools'  caps,  or  monks'  hoods,  should  in  future  be 
omitted  from  the  livery.!     A  change  was  accordingly  made 
in  the  costume,  at  about  the  time  of  the  cardinal's  departure. 
A  bundle  of  arrows,  or  in  some  instances  a  wheat-sheaf,  was 
substituted    for   the   cowls.§      Various   interpretations  were 
placed   upon   this   new  emblem.     According   to   the   nobles 
themselves,  it  denoted  the  union  of  all  their  hearts  in  the 
King's  service,  while  their  enemies  insinuated  that  it  was  ob- 
viously a  symbol  of  conspiracy.  [|     The  costume  thus  amended 
was  worn  by  the  gentlemen  themselves,  as  well  as  by  their 
servants.     Egmont  dined  at  the  Kegent's  table,  after  the  Car- 
dinal's departure,  in  a  camlet  doublet,  with  hanging  sleeves, 
and  buttons  stamped  with  the  bundle  of  arrows.*[[ 


•  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  294-297.  f  Ibid.  %  Ibid. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  455.  ||  Strada.     Hoofd.     Bentivoglio,  ubi  sup. 

^T  ;'  Portant  une  cabotte  a  leur  mode  de  camelot  sans  unde,  garnie  de  boutona 
d'argent,  avec  flesches,  et  le  bonnet  de  mesmes  boutons  d'argent.'' — Gr.  v.  Prinet 
Archives,  etc.,  i.  263. 


404  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

For  the  present,  the  Cardinal  affected  to  disapprove  of  the 
fashion  only  from  its  rebellious  tendency.  The  fools'  caps  and 
cowls,  he  meekly  observed  to  Philip,  were  the  least  part  of 
the  offence,  for  an  injury  to  himself  could  be  easily  forgiven. 
The  wheat-sheaf  and  the  arrow-bundles,  however,  were  very 
vile  things,  for  they  betokened  and  confirmed  the  existence  of 
a  conspiracy,  such  as  never  could  be  tolerated  by  a  prince  who 
had  any  regard  for  Ins  own  authority.* 

This  incident  of  the  livery  occupied  the  public  attention, 
and  inflamed  the  universal  hatred  during  the  later  months  of 
the  minister's  residence  in  the  country.  Meantime  the  three 
seigniors  had  become  very  impatient  at  receiving  no  answer  to 
their  letter.  Margaret  of  Parma  was  urging  her  brother  to 
give  them  satisfaction,  repeating  to  him  their  bitter  complaints 
that  their  characters  and  conduct  were  the  subject  of  constant 
misrepresentation  to  their  sovereign,  and  picturing  her  own 
isolated  condition.  She  represented  herself  as  entirely  de- 
prived of  the  support  of  those  great  personages,  who,  despite 
her  positive  assurances  to  the  contrary,  persisted  in  believing 
that  they  were  held  up  to  the  King  as  conspirators,  and  were 
in  danger  of  being  punished  as  traitors.f  Philip,  on  his  part, 
was  conning  Granvelle's  despatches,  filled  with  hints  of  con- 
spiracy, and  holding  counsel  with  Alva,  who  had  already 
recommended  the  taking  off  several  heads  for  treason.  The 
Prince  of  Orange,  who  already  had  secret  agents  in  the  King's 
household,  and  was  supplied  with  copies  of  the  most  private 
papers  in  the  palace,  knew  better  than  to  be  deceived  by  the 
smooth  representations  of  the  Regent.  Philip  had,  however, 
at  last  begun  secretly  to  yield.  He  asked  Alva's  advice,i; 
whether  on  the  whole  it  would  not  be  better  to  let  the  Cardi- 
nal leave  the  Netherlands,  at  least  for  a  time,  on  pretence  of 


*  "  Huy  ruin  punto  es  el  de  la  librea  que  ban  sacado  aquellos  senores  j  sua 
adberentes  no  por  la  invencion  de  las  cabecas  de  locos  y  capirotes  que  es  lo  menos, 
sino  porque  parece  dar  confirmacion  de  liga  cosa  no  cufridera  debaxo  de  un  prin- 
cipe  que  tenga  cuenta  con  su  autboridaden  susestados." — Papiers  d'E'tat,  viL  503. 

+  "  Correspondance  de  Pbilippe  II.,  i.  275,  276,  283. 

X  Papiers  d'Etat,  viL  273,  291,  316. 


1564.]  A  COMPLICATED  FALSEHOOD.  405 

visiting  his  mother  in  Burgundy,  and  to  invite  Count  Egmont 
to  Madrid,  by  way  of  striking  one  link  from  the  chain,  as 
Granvelle  had  suggested.  The  Duke  had  replied  that  he  had 
no  doubt  of  the  increasing  insolence  of  the  three  seigniors,  as 
depicted  in  the  letters  of  the  Duchess  Margaret,  nor  of  their 
intention  to  make  the  Cardinal  their  first  victim  ;  it  being 
the  regular  principle  in  all  revolts  against  the  sovereign,  to 
attack  the  chief  minister  in  the  first  place.  He  could  not, 
however,  persuade  himself  that  the  King  should  yield  and 
Granvelle  be  recalled.  Nevertheless,  if  it  were  to  be  done  at 
all,  he  preferred  that  the  Cardinal  should  go  to  Burgundy 
without  leave  asked  either  of  the  Duchess  or  of  Philip,  and 
that  he  should  then  write,  declining  to  return,  on  the  ground 
that  his  life  was  not  safe  in  the  Netherlands.* 

After  much  hesitation,  the  monarch  at  last  settled  upon  a 
plan,  which  recommended  itself  through  the  extreme  duplicity 
by  which  it  was  marked,  and  the  complicated  system  of  small 
deceptions,  which  it  consequently  required.  The  King,  who 
was  never  so  thoroughly  happy  or  at  home  as  when  elaborat- 
ing the  ingredients  of  a  composite  falsehood,  now  busily  em- 
ployed himself  in  his  cabinet.  He  measured  off  in  various 
letters  to  the  Eegent,  to  the  three  nobles,  to  Egmont  alone, 
and  to  Granvelle,  certain  proportionate  parts  of  his  whole 
plan,  which,  taken  separately,  were  intended  to  deceive,  and 
did  deceive  nearly  every  person  in  the  world,  not  only  in  his 
own  generation,  but  for  three  centuries  afterwards,  but  which 
arranged  synthetically,  as  can  now  be  done,  in  consequence  of 
modern  revelations,  formed  one  complete  and  considerable  lie, 
the  observation  of  which  furnishes  the  student  with  a  lesson 
in  the  political  chemistry  of  those  days,  which  was  called  Mac- 
chiavellian  statesmanship.  The  termination  of  the  Granvelle 
regency  is,  moreover,  most  important,  not  only  for  the  grave 
and  almost  interminable  results  to  which  it  led,  but  for  the 
illustration  which  it  affords  of  the  inmost  characters  of  the 
Cardinal  and  "  his  master." 


e  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  289-291. 


406  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

The  courier  who  was  to  take  Philip's  letters  to  the  three 
nobles  was  detained  three  weeks,  in  order  to  allow  Armenteros, 
who  was  charged  with  the  more  important  and  secret  despatches 
for  the  Duchess  and  Granvelle  to  reach  Brussels  first.  All  the 
letters,  however,  were  ready  at  the  same  time.  The  letter  of 
instructions  for  Armenteros  enjoined  upon  that  envoy  to  tell 
the  Kegent  that  the  heretics  were  to  be  chastised  with  renewed 
vigor,  that  she  was  to  refuse  to  convoke  the  states-general 
under  any  pretext,  and  that  if  hard  pressed,  she  was  to  refer 
directly  to  the  King.  With  regard  to  Granvelle,  the  secretary 
was  to  state  that  his  Majesty  tuas  still  deliberating,  and  that  the 
Duchess  would  be  informed  as  to  the  decision  when  it  should 
be  made.  He  was  to  express  the  royal  astonishment  that  the 
seigniors  should  absent  themselves  from  the  state  council,  with 
a  peremptory  intimation  that  they  should  immediately  return 
to  their  posts.  As  they  had  specified  no  particularities  against 
the  Cardinal,  the  King  would  still  reflect  upon  the  subject* 

He  also  wrote  a  private  note  to  the  Duchess,  stating  that 
he  had  not  yet  sent  the  letters  for  the  three  nobles,  because  he 
wished  that  Armenteros  should  arrive  before  their  courier,  f 
He,  however,  enclosed  two  notes  for  Egmont,J  of  which  Mar- 
garet was  to  deliver  that  one,  which,  in  her  opinion,  was,  under 
the  circumstances,  the  best.  In  one  of  these  missives  the 
King  cordially  accepted,  and  in  the  other  he  politely  declined 
Egmont's  recent  offer  to  visit  Spain.  He  also  forwarded  a 
private  letter  in  his  own  hand-writing  to  the  Cardinal.  Ar- 
menteros, who  travelled  but  slowly  on  account  of  the  state  of 
his  health,  arrived  in  Brussels  towards  the  end  of  February. 
Five  or  six  days  afterwards,  on  the  1st  March,  namely,§  the 
courier  arrived  bringing  the  despatches  for  the  seigniors.  In 
his  letter  to  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn,  the  King  expressed 
his  astonishment  at  their  resolution  to  abstain  from  the  state 


0  Correspondanee  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  285,  286. 
f  Correspondanee  de  Guillnie  le  Tacit.,  ii.  67,  68. 
\  Correspondanee  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  284,  285. 

§  "  Sur  la  chute  du  Cardinal  de  Granvelle."     Par  M.  G-achard  (Bulletins  de 
"Academie  Royale  de  Belgique,  xvi.,  No.  6),  p.  22. 


1564.]  THE  HEART  OF  THE  MYSTERY.  407 

council.  Nevertheless,  said  he,  imperatively,  fail  not  to  return 
thither  and  to  show  how  much  more  highly  you  regard  my 
service  and  the  good  of  the  country  than  any  other  particu- 
larity whatever.*  As  to  Granvelle,  continued  Philip,  since 
you  will  not  make  any  specifications,  my  intention  is  to  think 
over  the  matter  longer,  in  order  to  arrange  it  as  may  seem  most 
fitting.f 

This  letter  was  dated  February  19  (1564)4  nearly  a  month 
later  therefore  than  the  secret  letter  to  Granvelle,  brought  by 
Armenteros,  although  all  the  despatches  had  been  drawn  up  at 
the  same  time  and  formed  parts  of  the  same  plan.  In  this  brief 
note  to  Granvelle,  however,  lay  the  heart  of  the  whole  mystery. 

"  I  have  reflected  much,"  wrote  the  King,  "  on  all  that  you 
have  written  me  during  these  last  few  months,  concerning  the 
ill-will  borne  you  by  certain  personages.  I  notice  also  your 
suspicions  that  if  a  revolt  breaks  out,  they  will  commence  with 
your  person,  thus  taking  occasion  to  proceed  from  that  point 
to  the  accomplishment  of  their  ulterior  designs.  I  have 
particularly  taken  into  consideration  the  notice  received  by  you 
from  the  curate  of  Saint  Gudule,  as  well  as  that  which  you 
have  learned  concerning  the  Genoese  who  is  kept  at  Weert ;  all 
which  has  given  me  much  anxiety  as  well  from  my  desire  for 
the  preservation  of  your  life,  in  which  my  service  is  so  deeply 
interested,  as  for  the  possible  results  if  any  thing  should  happen 
to  you,  which  God  forbid.  I  have  thought,  therefore,  that  it 
would  be  well,  in  order  to  give  time  and  breathing  space  to  the 
hatred  and  rancor  which  those  persons  entertain  towards  you, 
and  in  order  to  see  what  course  they  will  take  in  preparing  the 
necessary  remedy  for  the  provinces,  for  you  to  leave  the  country 
for  some  days,  in  order  to  visit  your  mother,  and  this  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Duchess,  my  sister,  and  with  her  permission, 
which  you  will  request,  and  which  I  have  written  to  her  that 
she  must  give,  without  allowing  it  to  appear  that  you  have 


*  Correspondanee  de  Guillme  le  Tacit.,  ii.  67,  68. 

f  "  Puisque  vous  ne  voulez  diro  les  partieularites,  mon  intention  est  d'y  penser 
encoires  pour  y  pourveoir  comme  il  conviendra." — Ibid.  \  Ibid. 


408  THE   RISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

received  orders  to  that  effect  from  me.  You  will  also  beg  her 
to  write  to  me  requesting  my  approbation  of  what  she  is  to  do. 
By  taking  this  course  neither  my  authority  nor  yours  will 
surfer  prejudice  ;  and  according  to  the  turn  which  things  may 
take,  measures  may  be  taken  for  your  return  when  expedient, 
and  for  whatever  else  there  may  be  to  arrange."  * 

Thus,  in  two  words,  Philip  removed  the  unpopular  minister 
forever.  The  limitation  of  his  absence  had  no  meaning:, 
and  was  intended  to  have  none.  If  there  were  not  strength 
enough  to  keep  the  Cardinal  in  his  place,  it  was  not  probable 
that  the  more  difficult  task  of  reinstating  him  after  his  fall 
would  be  very  soon  attempted.  It  seemed,  however,  to  be 
dealing  more  tenderly  with  Granvelle's  self-respect  thus  to 
leave  a  vague  opening  for  a  possible  return,  than  to  send  him 
an  unconditional  dismissal. 

Thus,  while  the  King  refused  to  give  any  weight  to  the 
representations  of  the  nobles,  and  affected  to  be  still  deliber- 
ating whether  or  not  he  should  recal  the  Cardinal,  he  had  in 
reality  already  recalled  him.  All  the  minute  directions  accord- 
ing to  which  permission  was  to  be  asked  of  the  Duchess  to 
take  a  step  which  had  already  been  prescribed  by  the  monarch, 
and  Philip's  indulgence  craved  for  obeying  his  own  explicit 
injunctions,  were  fulfilled  to  the  letter. 

As  soon  as  the  Cardinal  received  the  royal  order,  he  pri- 
vately made  preparations  for  his  departure.  The  Regent, 
on  the  other  hand,  delivered  to  Count  Egmont  the  one  of 
Philip's  two  letters  in  which  that  gentleman's  visit  was  de- 
clined,f  the  Duchess  believing  that,  in  the  present  position  of 
affairs,  she  should  derive  more  assistance  from  him  than  from 
the  rest  of  the  seigniors.     As  Granvelle,  however,  still  delayed 


*  The  text  of  this  famous  note  is  given  in  a  paper  extracted  from  the  "  Bulle- 
tins de  l'Academie  Royale  de  Bruxelles,"  torn,  xii.,  pp.  9,  10,  by  M.  Gachard. 
That  acute  historical  investigator,  to  whom  the  discovery  of  this  secret  billet  is 
due,  well  remarks  :  "  L'Academie  comprendra  la  joie  que  me  fit  eprouver  cette 
decouverte;  ce  sont  la  des  jouissances  qui  dedommagent  de  bien  des  fatigues,  de 
bien  des  ennuis." — p.  9. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  291-293. 


1564.]  granvelle's  exit.  409 

his  departure,  even  after  the  arrival  of  the  second  courier,  she 
was  again  placed  in  a  situation  of  much  perplexity.  The 
three  nobles  considered  Philip's  letter  to  them  extremely  "  dry 
and  laconic,"  *  and  Orange  absolutely  refused  to  comply  with 
the  order  to  re-enter  the  state  council.  At  a  session  of  that 
body,  on  the  3d  of  March,  where  only  Granvelle,  Viglius, 
and  Berlaymont  were  present,  Margaret  narrated  her  fruitless 
attempts  to  persuade  the  seigniors  into  obedience  to  the  royal 
orders  lately  transmitted,  and  asked  their  opinions.  The  ex- 
traordinary advice  was  then  given,  that  "  she  should  let  them 
champ  the  bit  a  little  while  longer,  and  afterwards  see  what 
was  to  be  clone."  f  Even  at  the  last  moment,  the  Cardinal, 
reluctant  to  acknowledge  himself  beaten,  although  secretly 
desirous  to  retire,  was  inclined  for  a  parting  struggle.  The 
Duchess,  however,  being  now  armed  with  the  King's  express 
commands,  and  having  had  enough  of  holding  the  reins  while 
such  powerful  and  restive  personages  were  "champing  the 
bit,"  insisted  privately  that  the  Cardinal  should  make  his  im- 
mediate departure  known.;*;  Pasquinades  and  pamphlets  were 
already  appearing  daily,  each  more  bitter  than  the  other  ;  the 
livery  was  spreading  rapidly  through  all  classes  of  people,  and 
the  seigniors  most  distinctly  refused  to  recede  from  their  de- 
termination of  absenting  themselves  from  the  council  so  long 
as  Granvelle  remained.§  There  was  no  help  for  it ;  and  on 
the  13th  of  Marcli||  the  Cardinal  took  his  departure.  Not- 
withstanding the  mystery  of  the  whole  proceeding,  however, 
William  of  Orange  was  not  deceived.  He  felt  certain  that 
the  minister  had  been  recalled,  and  thought  it  highly  improb- 
able that  he  would  ever  be  permitted  to  return.  "  Although 
the  Cardinal  talks  of  coming  back  again  soon,"  wrote  the 
Prince  to  Schwartzburg,  "we  nevertheless  hope  that,  as  he 
lied  about  his  departure,  so  he  will  also  spare  the  truth  in  his 


*  Correspondance  de  Guillme  le  Tacit.,  ii.  69,  70. 

f  "  Sur  quoy  sembla  qu'elle  devroit  les  laisser  encoires  quelque  peu  ronger  le 
train  sur  cecy  et  apres  regarder." — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II,  i.  294 — 297. 
X  Ibid.  §  Ibid.  f  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  219. 


410  THE    EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1564. 

present  assertions."0  This  was  the  general  conviction,  so  far 
as  the  question  of  the  minister's  compulsory  retreat  was  con- 
cerned, of  all  those  who  were  in  the  habit  of  receiving  their 
information  and  their  opinions  from  the  Prince  of  Orange. 
Many  even  thought  that  Granvelle  had  been  recalled  with  in- 
dignity and  much  against  his  will.  "  When  the  Cardinal," 
wrote  Secretary  Lorich  to  Count  Louis,  "  received  the  King's 
order  to  go,  he  growled  like  a  bear,  and  kept  himself  alone  in 
his  chamber  for  a  time,  making  his  preparations  for  departure. 
He  says  he  shall  come  back  in  two  months,  but  some  of  us 
think  they  will  be  two  long  months  which  will  eat  them- 
selves up  like  money  borrowed  of  the  Jews."f  A  wag, 
moreover,  posted  a  large  placard  upon  the  door  of  Granvelle's 
palace  in  Brussels  as  soon  as  the  minister's  departure  was 
known,  with  the  inscription,  in  large  letters,  "  For  sale,  im- 
mediately."^: In  spite  of  the  royal  ingenuity,  therefore, 
many  shrewdly  suspected  the  real  state  of  the  case,  although 
but  very  few  actually  knew  the  truth. 

The  Cardinal  left  Brussels  with  a  numerous  suite,  stately 
equipages,  and  much  parade.  The  Duchess  provided  him  with 
her  own  mules  and  with  a  sufficient  escort,  for  the  King 
had  expressly  enjoined  that  every  care  should  be  taken  against 
any  murderous  attack.  There  was  no  fear  of  such  assault, 
however,  for  all  were  sufficiently  satisfied  to  see  the  minister 
depart.  Brederode  and  Count  Hoogstraaten  were  standing- 
together,  looking  from  the  window  of  a  house  near  the  gate 
of  Caudenberg,  to  feast  their  eyes  with  the  spectacle  of  their 
enemy's  retreat.  As  soon  as  the  Cardinal  had  passed  through 
that  gate,  on  his  way  to  Namur,  the  first  stage  of  his  journey, 
they  rushed  into  the  street,  got  both  upon  one  horse,  Hoog- 
straaten, who  alone  had  boots  on  his  legs,  taking  the  saddle 
and  Brederode   the    croup,  and  galloped  after  the  Cardinal, 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  277. 

f  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  228-229. — "Hatt  er  gebrombt  wie  eiu  bar, 

etc.,  etc.  es  werden  zwen  lango  monat  sein  und,  gleich  der  Juden  wucher 

ufuaufen.  und  sich  selber  versichern." 

%  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


1564.]  GENTEEL  COMEDY.  411 

with  the  exultation  of  school-boys.  *  Thus  mounted,  they 
continued  to  escort  the  Cardinal  on  his  journey.  At  one  time, 
they  were  so  near  his  carriage,  while  it  was  passing  through  a 
ravine,  that  they  might  have  spoken  to  him  from  the  heights 
above,  where  they  had  paused  to  observe  him ;  but  they  pulled 
the  capes  of  their  cloaks  over  their  faces  and  suffered  him  to 
pass  unchallenged.  "  But  they  are  young  folk,"  said  the 
Cardinal,  benignantly,  after  relating  all  these  particulars  to  the 
Duchess,  "  and  one  should  pay  little  regard  to  their  actions." 
He  added,  that  one  of  Egmont's  gentlemen  dogged  their  party 
on  the  journey,  lodging  in  the  same  inns  with  them,  apparently 
in  the  hope  of  learning  something  from  their  conversation  or 
proceedings.  If  that  were  the  man's  object,  however,  Granvelle 
exj)ressed  the  conviction  that  he  was  disappointed,  as  nothing 
could  have  been  more  merry  than  the  whole  company,  or  more 
discreet  than  their  conversation.f 

The  Cardinal  began  at  once  to  put  into  operation  the  system 
of  deception,  as  to  his  departure,  which  had  been  planned  by 
Philip.  The  man  who  had  been  ordered  to  leave  the  Nether- 
lands by  the  King,  and  pushed  into  immediate  compliance  with 
the  royal  command  by  the  Duchess,  proceeded  to  address  letters 
both  to  Philip  and  Margaret.  He  wrote  from  Namur  to  beg 
the  Kegent  that  she  would  not  fail  to  implore  his  Majesty 
graciously  to  excuse  his  having  absented  himself  for  private 
reasons  at  that  particular  moment.^  He  wrote  to  Philip  from 
Besancon,  stating  that  his  desire  to  visit  his  mother,  whom  he 
had  not  seen  for  nineteen  years,  and  his  natal  soil,  to  which  he 
had  been  a  stranger  during  the  same  period,  had  induced  him 
to  take  advantage  of  his  brother's  journey  to  accompany  him 
for  a  few  days  into  Burgundy.§  He  had,  therefore,  he  said, 
obtained  the  necessary  permission  from  the  Duchess,  who  had 
kindly  promised  to  write  very  particularly  by  the  first  courier, 
to  beg  his  Majesty's  approval  of  the  liberty  which  they  had  both 
taken.||     He  wrote  from  the  same  place  to  the  Kegent  again, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  426.  f  Ibid.,  vii.  409,  410.  J  Ibid. 

§  Ibid.,  vii.  483,  484.  j  Ibid. 


412  THE   RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

saying  that  some  of  the  nobles  pretended  to  have  learned  from 
Armenteros  that  the  King  had  ordered  the  Cardinal  to  leave 
the  country  and  not  to  return  ;  all  which,  he  added,  was  a  very 
false  Renardesque  invention,  at  which  he  did  nothing  hut  laugh.  * 

As  a  matter  of  course,  his  brother,  in  whose  company  he  was 
about  to  visit  the  mother  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  the  past 
nineteen  years,  was  as  much  mystified  as  the  rest  of  the  world.f 
Chantonnay  was  not  aware  that  any  thing  but  the  alleged 
motives  had  occasioned  the  journey,  nor  did  he  know  that  his 
brother  would  perhaps  have  omitted  to  visit  their  common 
parent  for  nineteen  years  longer  had  he  not  received  the  royal 
order  to  leave  the  Netherlands. 

Philip,  on  the  other  side,  had  sustained  his  part  in  the  farce 
with  much  ability.  Viglius,  Berlaymont,  Morillon,  and  all  the 
lesser  cardinalists  were  entirely  taken  in  by  the  letters  which 
were  formally  despatched  to  the  Duchess  in  reply  to  her  own 
and  the  Cardinal's  notification.  "  I  can  not  take  it  amiss," 
wrote  the  King,  "  that  you  have  given  leave  of  absence  to 
Cardinal  de  Granvelle,  for  two  or  three  months,  according  to 
the  advices  just  received  from  you,  that  he  may  attend  to  some 
private  affairs  of  his  own." %  As  soon  as  these  letters  had  been 
read  in  the  council,  Viglius  faithfully  transmitted  them  to 
G-ranvelle  for  that  personage's  enlightenment ;  adding  his  own 
innocent  reflection,  that  "  this  was  very  different  language 
from  that  held  by  some  people,  that  your  most  illustrious  lord- 
ship had  retired  by  order  of  his  Majesty."§  Morillon  also  sent 
the  Cardinal  a  copy  of  the  same  passage  in  the  royal  despatch, 
saying,  very  wisely,  "  I  wonder  what  they  will  all  say  now,  since 
these  letters  have  been  read  in  council."||  The  Duchess,  as  in 
duty  bound,  denied  flatly,  on  all  occasions,  that  Armenteros 
had  brought  any  letters  recommending  or  ordering  the  minis- 
ter's retreat.^"     She  conscientiously  displayed  the  letters  of  his 


*  Tapiers  d'Etat,  vii.  591.  \  Ibid.,  ix.  565.  %  Ibid.,  vii.  600-638. 

§  Ibid.— Letter  of  Viglius  to  Granvelle,  9th  May,  1564.  ||  Ibid.,  638. 

T  "  La  duchesse  renia  fort  et  ferme  que  Armenteros  avait  apporte  aucunes 
lettres  de  vostre  restraictes  et  monstroit  bien  par  les  dernieres  lettres  de  S.  Maj. 
le  contraire,"  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  653. 


1564.]  MYSTIFICATION.  413 

Majesty,  proving  the  contrary,  and  yet,  said  Viglius,  it  was 
very  hard  to  prevent  people  talking  as  they  liked.0  G-ranvelle 
omitted  no  occasion  to  mystify  every  one  of  his  correspondents 
on  the  subject,  referring,  of  course,  to  the  same  royal  letters 
which  had  been  written  for  public  reading,  expressly  to  corrob- 
orate these  statements.  "  You  see  by  his  Majesty's  letters  to 
Madame  de  Parma,"  said  he  to  Morillon,  "  how  false  is  the 
report  that  the  King  had  ordered  me  to  leave  Flanders,  and 
in  what  confusion  those  persons  lind  themselves  who  fabricated 
the  story."f  It  followed  of  necessity  that  he  should  carry  out 
his  part  in  the  royal  program,  but  he  accomplished  his  task 
so  adroitly,  and  with  such  redundancy  of  zeal,  as  to  show  his 
thorough  sympathy  with  the  King's  policy.  He  dissembled 
with  better  grace,  even  if  the  King  did  it  more  naturally. 
Nobody  was  too  insignificant  to  be  deceived,  nobody  too  au- 
gust. Emperor  Ferdinand  fared  no  better  than  "  Esquire" 
Bordey.  "  Some  of  those  who  hate  me,"  he  wrote  to  the  po- 
tentate, "  have  circulated  the  report  that  I  had  been  turned 
out  of  the  country,  and  was  never  to  return.  This  story  has 
ended  in  smoke,  since  the  letters  written  by  his  Majesty  to  the 
Duchess  of  Parma  on  the  subject  of  the  leave  of  absence 
which  she  had  given  me."|  Philip  himself  addressed  a  private 
letter  to  Granvelle,  of  course  that  others  might  see  it,  in  which 
he  affected  to  have  just  learned  that  the  Cardinal  had  obtained 
permission  from  the  Regent  "  to  make  a  visit  to  his  mother, 
in  order  to  arrange  certain  family  matters,"  and  gravely  gave 
his  approbation  to  the  step.§  At  the  same  time  it  was  not 
possible  for  the  King  to  resist  the  temptation  of  adding  one 
other  stroke  of  dissimulation  to  his  own  share  in  the  comedy. 
Granvelle  and  Philip  had  deceived  all  the  world,  but  Philip  also 
deceived  Granvelle.  The  Cardinal  made  a  mystery  of  his  de- 
parture to  Pollwiller,  Viglius,  Morillon,  to  the  Emperor,  to  his 
own  brother,  and  also  to  the  King's  secretary,  Gonzalo  Perez  ; 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  653.  f  Ibid-  viii-  108- 

\  Ibid.,  113.  §  Ibid.,  218,  210. 


414  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

but  he  was  not  aware  that  Perez,  whom  he  thought  himself 
deceiving  as  ingeniously  as  he  had  done  all  the  others,  had 
himself  drawn  up  the  letter  of  recal,  which  the  King  had 
afterwards  copied  out  in  his  own  hand  and  marked  "  secret  and 
confidential."®  Yet  Granvelle  might  have  guessed  that  in 
such  an  emergency  Philip  would  hardly  depend  upon  his  own 
literary  abilities. 

Granvelle  remained  month  after  month  in  seclusion,  doing 
his  best  to  philosophize.  Already,  during  the  latter  period 
of  his  residence  in  the  Netherlands,  he  had  lived  in  a  com- 
parative and  forced  solitude.  His  house  had  been  avoided 
by  those  power-worshippers  whose  faces  are  rarely  turned  to  the 
setting  sun.  He  had,  in  consequence,  already,  before  his  de- 
parture, begun  to  discourse  on  the  beauties  of  retirement,  the 
fatigues  of  greatness,  and  the  necessity  of  repose  for  men 
broken  with  the  storms  of  state.-}"  A  great  man  was  like  a 
lake,  he  said,  to  which  a  thirsty  multitude  habitually  resorted 
till  the  waters  were  troubled,  sullied,  and  finally  exhausted.^ 
Power  looked  more  attractive  in  front  than  in  the  retrospect. 
That  which  men  possessed  was  ever  of  less  value  than  that 
which  they  hoped.§  In  this  fine  strain  of  eloquent  common- 
place the  falling  minister  had  already  begun  to  moralize  upon 
the  vanity  of  human  wishes.  When  he  was  established  at  his 
charming  retreat  in  Burgundy,  he  had  full  leisure  to  pursue 
the  theme.  He  remained  in  retirement  till  his  beard  grew  to 
his  waist,  1 1  having  vowed,  according  to  report,  that  he  would 
not  shave  till  recalled  to  the  Netherlands.  If  the  report 
were  true,  said  some  of  the  gentlemen  in  the  provinces,  it 
would  be  likely  to  grow  to  his  feet.^f  He  professed  to  wish 
himself  blind  and  deaf,**  that  he  might  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  world's  events,  described  himself  as  buried  in 
literature,  and  fit  for  no  business  save  to  remain  in  his  cham- 
ber, fastened  to  his  books,  or  occupied  with  private  affairs 


°  M.  Gachard. — Bull,  do  l'Acad.  Roy.,  xii.  11. 

f  "Optandum  homini  laboribus  fracto  requietem,"  etc.,  etc. — Strada,  iv.  135. 

t  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 

J  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  218,  219.  T  Ibid.  **  Ibid.,  viii.  9L 


1564.]  PSEUDO-EPICURUS.  415 

and  religious  exercises.*  He  possessed  a  most  charming  resi- 
dence at  Orchamps,  where  he  spent  a  great  portion  of  his  time. 
In  one  of  his  letters  to  Vice-Chancellor  Seld,  he  described  the 
beauties  of  this  retreat  with  much  delicacy  and  vigor — "  I  am 
really  not  as  badly  off  here,"  said  he,  "  as  I  should  be  in  the 
Indies.  I  am  in  sweet  places  where  I  have  wished  for  you  a 
thousand  times,  for  I  am  certain  that  you  would  think  them 
appropriate  for  philosophy  and  worthy  the  habitation  of  the 
Muses.  Here  are  beautiful  mountains,  high  as  heaven,  fertile 
on  all  their  sides,  wreathed  with  vineyards,  and  rich  with  every 
fruit  ;  here  are  rivers  flowing  through  charming  valleys,  the 
waters  clear  as  crvstal,  filled  with  trout,  breakine;  into  number- 
less  cascades.  Here  are  umbrageous  groves,  fertile  fields,  lovely 
meadows  ;  on  the  one  side  great  warmth,  on  the  other  side  de- 
lectable coolness,  despite  the  summer's  heat.  Nor  is  there  any 
lack  of  good  company,  friends,  and  relations,  with,  as  you  well 
know,  the  very  best  wines  in  the  world,  "f 

Thus  it  is  obvious  that  the  Cardinal  was  no  ascetic.  His 
hermitage  contained  other  appliances  save  those  for  study  and 
devotion.  His  retired  life  was,  in  fact,  that  of  a  voluptuary. 
His  brother,  Chantonnay,  reproached  him  with  the  sumptu- 
ousness  and  disorder  of  his  establishment.  +  He  lived  in  "  good 
and  joyous  cheer."  He  professed  to  be  thoroughly  satisfied 
with  the  course  things  had  taken,  knowing  that  God  was 
above  all,  and  would  take  care  of  all.  He  avowed  his 
determination  to  extract  pleasure  and  profit  even  from  the  ill- 
will  nf  his  adversaries.  "  Behold  my  philosophy,"  he  cried, 
"  to  live  joyously  as  possible,  laughing  at  the  world,  at 
passionate  people,  and  at  all  their  calumnies."§  It  is  evident 
that  his  philosophy,  if  it  had  any  real  existence,  was  sufficiently 
Epicurean.  It  was,  however,  mainly  compounded  of  pretence, 
like  his  whole  nature  and  his  whole  life.  Notwithstanding 
the  mountains  high  as  heaven,  the  cool  grottos,  the  trout,  and 


•  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  91,  102.     Groen  t.  Prinst.  Archives,  i.  428. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  115. 

$  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  428  (note).  §  Ibid,  240. 


416  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC  [1564. 

the  best  Burgundy  wines  in  the  world,  concerning  which  he 
descanted  so  eloquently,  he  soon  became  in  reality  most  im- 
patient of  his  compulsory  seclusion.  His  pretence  of  "  com- 
posing himself  as  much  as  possible  to  tranquillity  and  re- 
pose"* could  deceive  none  of  the  intimate  associates  to  whom 
he  addressed  himself  in  that  edifying  vein.  While  he  af- 
fected to  be  blind  and  deaf  to  politics,  he  had  eyes  and  ears 
for  nothing  else.  Worldly  affairs  were  his  element,  and  he  was 
shipwrecked  upon  the  charming  solitude  which  he  affected  to 
admire.  He  was  most  anxious  to  return  to  the  world  again, 
but  he  had  difficult  cards  to  play.  His  master  was  even  moro 
dubious  than  usual  about  every  thing.  Granvelle  was  ready 
to  remain  in  Burgundy  as  long  as  Philip  chose  that  he  should 
remain  there.  He  was  also  ready  to  go  to  "  India,  Peru,  or 
into  the  fire,"  whenever  his  King  should  require  any  such 
excursion,  or  to  return  to  the  Netherlands,  confronting  any 
danger  which  might  lie  in  his  path.f  It  is  probable  that  he 
nourished  for  a  long  time  a  hope  that  the  storm  would  blow 
over  in  the  provinces,  and  his  resumption  of  power  become 
possible.  William  of  Orange,  although  more  than  half  con- 
vinced that  no  attempt  would  be  made  to  replace  the  minister, 
felt  it  necessary  to  keep  strict  watch  on  his  movements. 
"  We  must  be  on  our  guard,"  said  he,  "  and  not  be  deceived. 
Perhaps  they  mean  to  put  us  asleep,  in  order  the  better  to 
execute  their  designs.  For  the  present  things  are  peaceable, 
and  all  the  world  is  rejoiced  at  the  departure  of  that  good 
Cardinal."^  The  Prmce  never  committed  the  error  of  under- 
valuing the  talents  of  his  great  adversary,  and  he  felt  the 
necessity  of  being  on  the  alert  in  the  present  emergency. 
"  'Tis  a  sly  and  cunning  bird  that  we  are  dealing  with,"  said 
he,  "  one  that  sleeps  neither  day  nor  night  if  a  blow  is  to  be 
dealt  to  us."§  Honest  Brederode,  after  solacing  himself  with 
the  spectacle  of  his  enemy's  departure,  soon  began  to  suspect 
his  return,  and  to  express  himself  on  the  subject,  as  usual, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  91.  f  Ibid,  viii.  103.     Groen  v.  Prinst.,  i.  311. 

$  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  i.  226,  227.  §  Ibid,  259. 


1564.]  SCHOOL   BROKE   LOOSE.  417 

with  ludicrous  vehemence.  "  They  say  the  red  fellow  is  back 
again,"  he  wrote  to  Count  Louis,  "and  that  Berlaymont  has 
gone  to  meet  him  at  Namur.  The  Devil  after  the  two  would 
be  a  good  chase."*  Nevertheless,  the  chances  of  that  return 
became  daily  fainter.  Margaret  of  Parma  hated  the  Cardinal 
with  great  cordiality.  She  fell  out  of  her  servitude  to  him  into 
far  more  contemptible  hands,  but  for  a  brief  interval  she  seemed 
.  to  take  a  delight  in  the  recovery  of  her  freedom.  According 
to  Viglius,  the  court,  after  Granvelle's  departure,  was  like  a 
school  of  boys  and  girls  when  the  pedagogue's  back  is  turned.f 
He  was  very  bitter  against  the  Duchess  for  her  manifest  joy  at 
emancipation.  J  The  poor  President  was  treated  with  the  most 
marked  disdain  by  Margaret,  who  also  took  pains  to  show  her 
dislike  to  all  the  cardinalists.  Secretary  Armenteros  forbade 
Bordey,  who  was  Granvelle's  cousin  and  dependent,  from  even 
speaking  to  him  in  public.§  The  Eegent  soon  became  more 
intimate  with  Orange  and  Egmont  than  she  had  ever  been  with 
the  Cardinal.  She  was  made  to  see — and,  seeing,  she  became 
indignant — the  cipher  which  she  had  really  been  during  his  ad- 
ministration. "  One  can  tell  what's  o'clock,")]  wrote  Morillon 
to  the  fallen  minister,  "  since  she  never  writes  to  you  nor  men- 
tions your  name."  As  to  Armenteros,  with  whom  Granvelle 
was  still  on  friendly  relations,  he  was  restless  in  his  endeavors 
to  keep  the  once-powerful  priest  from  rising  again.  Having 
already  wormed  himself  into  the  confidence  of  the  Regent,  he 
made  a  point  of  showing  to  the  principal  seigniors  various 
letters,  in  which  she  had  been  warned  by  the  Cardinal  to  put 
no  trust  in  them.  "  That  devil,"  said  Armenteros,  "  thought 
he  had  got  into  Paradise  here  ;  but  he  is  gone,  and  we  shall 
take  care  that  he  never  returns."^"  It  was  soon  thought 
highly  probable  that  the  King  was  but  temporizing,  and  that 
the  voluntary  departure  of  the  minister  had  been  a  decep- 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  i.  305.  \  Y\t.  Vip-lii,  38. 

X  Ib'd.  §  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  593. 

"  L'on  peult  facillement  voir  quelle  heure  il  est,"  etc.,  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat, 
viii.  92-94.  <fl-  Ibid, 

VOL.   I.  27 


418  THE    KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [15Gi. 

tion.  Of  course  nothing  was  accurately  known  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Philip  had  taken  good  care  of  that,  hut  meantime  the 
hets  were  very  high  that  there  would  be  no  restoration,  with 
but  few  takers.  Men  thought  if  there  had  been  any  royal  favor 
remaining  for  the  great  man,  that  the  Duchess  would  not  be 
so  decided  in  her  demeanor  on  the  subject.  They  saw  that  she 
was  scarlet  with  indignation  whenever  the  Cardinal's  name  was 
mentioned.0  They  heard  her  thank  Heaven  that  she  had  but 
one  son,  because  if  she  had  had  a  second  he  must  have  been  an 
ecclesiastic,  and  as  vile  as  priests  always  were.f  They  wit- 
nessed the  daily  contumely  which  she  heaped  upon  poor  Vig- 
lius,  both  because  he  was  a  friend  of  Granvelle  and  was  prepar- 
ing in  his  old  age  to  take  orders.  The  days  were  gone,  indeed, 
when  Margaret  was  so  filled  with  respectful  affection  for  the 
prelate,  that  she  could  secretly  correspond  with  the  Holy 
Father  at  Rome,  and  solicit  the  red  hat  for  the  object  of  her 
veneration.  She  now  wrote  to  Philip,  stating  that  she  was 
better  informed  as  to  affairs  in  the  Netherlands  than  she  had 
ever  formerly  been.  She  told  her  brother  that  all  the  views  of 
Granvelle  and  of  his  followers,  Viglius  with  the  rest,  had  tended 
to  produce  a  revolution  which  they  hoped  that  Philip  would 
find  in  full  operation  when  he  should  come  to  the  Netherlands. 
It  was  their  object,  she  said,  to  fish  in  troubled  waters,  and,  to 
attain  that  aim,  they  had  ever  pursued  the  plan  of  gaining  the 
exclusive  control  of  all  affairs.  That  was  the  reason  why  they 
had  ever  opposed  the  convocation  of  the  states-general.  They 
feared  that  their  books  would  be  read,  and  their  frauds,  injus- 
tice, simony,  and  rapine  discovered. £  This  would  be  the  result, 
if  tranquillity  were  restored  to  the  country,  and  therefore  they 
had  done  their  best  to  foment  and  maintain  discord.  The 
Duchess  soon  afterwards  entertained  her  royal  brother  with 
very  detailed  accounts  of  various  acts  of  simony,  peculation, 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  132. — "  Que  son  Alteze  devient  rouge  comme  escarlate 
quand  Ton  parle  de  Ve.  Sg'V  etc. 
f  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  132. 
\  Correspondance  do  Phil  II.,  i.  311-314. 


1564.]  CONFLICTING   STATEMENTS.  419 

and  embezzlement  committed  by  Viglius,  which  the  Cardinal 
had  aided  and  abetted,  and  by  which  he  had  profited.*  These 
revelations  are  inestimable  in  a  historical  point  of  view.  They 
do  not  raise  our  estimate  of  Margaret's  character,  but  they 
certainly  give  us  a  clear  insight  into  the  nature  of  the  Gran- 
velle  administration.  At  the  same  time  it  was  characteristic 
of  the  Duchess,  that  while  she  was  thus  painting  the  portrait 
of  the  Cardinal  for  the  private  eye  of  his  sovereign,  she  should 
address  the  banished  minister  himself  in  a  secret  strain  of 
condolence,  and  even  of  penitence.  She  wrote  to  assure 
Granvelle  that  she  repented  extremely  having  adopted  the 
views  of  Orange.  She  promised  that  she  would  state  publicly 
every  where  that  the  Cardinal  was  an  upright  man,  intact  in 
his  morals  and  his  administration,  a  most  zealous  and  faithful 
servant  of  the  King.f  She  added  that  she  recognized  the 
obligations  she  was  under  to  him,  and  that  she  loved  him  like 
a  brother.  J  She  affirmed  that  if  the  Flemish  seigniors  had 
induced  her  to  cause  the  Cardinal  to  be  deprived  of  the  govern- 
ment, she  was  already  penitent,  and  that  her  fault  deserved 
that  the  King,  her  brother,  should  cut  off  her  head,  for  having 
occasioned  so  great  a  calamity.  § 

There  was  certainly  discrepancy  between  the  language  thus 
used  simultaneously  by  the  Duchess  to  Granvelle  and  to 
Philip,  but  Margaret  had  been  trained  in  the  school  of  Mac- 
chiavelli,  and  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  Loyola. 

The  Cardinal  replied  with  equal  suavity,  protesting  that 
such  a  letter  from  the  Duchess  left  him  nothing  more  to  desire, 
as  it  furnished  him  with  an  "  entire  and  perfect  justification" 
of  his  conduct.  1 1  He  was  aware  of  her  real  sentiments,  no 
doubt,  but  he  was  too  politic  to  quarrel  with  so  important  a 
personage  as  Philip's  sister. 

An    incident    which    occurred    a    few    months    after   the 


*  Correspondance  de  Phil.  II.,  i.  318-320. 

f  Dom  l'Evesque,  ii.  71.  \  Ibid. 

§  Dom  l'Evesque,  ubi  sup.      He  cites  the  MS.  collection  entitled  "  Memoires 
de  Granvelle,"  torn.  33,  p.  67. 

|   Dom  l'Evesque,  ii.  71,  72.     Memoires  de  Granvelle,  torn.  33,  p.  95. 


420  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

minister's  departure  served  to  show  the  general  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  all  ranks  of  Netherlander.  Count 
Mansfeld  celebrated  the  baptism  of  his  son,  Philip  Octavian, 
by  a  splendid  series  of  festivities  at  Luxemburg,  the  capital  of 
his  government.  Besides  the  tournaments  and  similar  sports, 
with  which  the  upper  classes  of  European  society  were  accus- 
tomed at  that  day  to  divert  themselves,  there  was  a  grand  mas- 
querade, to  which  the  public  were  admitted  as  spectators.  In  this 
"  mummery"  the  most  successful  spectacle  was  that  presented 
by  a  group  arranged  in  obvious  ridicule  of  Grranvelle.  A 
figure  dressed  in  Cardinal's  costume,  with  the  red  hat  upon 
his  head,  came  pacing  through  the  arena  upon  horseback. 
Before  him  marched  a  man  attired  like  a  hermit,  with  long 
white  beard,  telling  his  beads  upon  a  rosary,  which  he  held 
ostentatiously  in  his  hands.  Behind  the  mounted  Cardinal 
came  the  Devil,  attired  in  the  usual  guise  considered  appro- 
priate to  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  who  scourged  both  horse  and 
rider  with  a  whip  of  fox-tails,  causing  them  to  scamper  about 
the  lists  in  great  trepidation,  to  the  immense  delight  of  the 
spectators.  The  practical  pun  upon  Simon  Renard's  name 
embodied  in  the  fox-tail,  with  the  allusion  to  the  effect  of  the 
manifold  squibs  perpetrated  by  that  most  bitter  and  lively 
enemy  upon  Grranvelle,  were  understood  and  relished  by  the 
multitude.  Nothing  could  be  more  hearty  than  the  blows 
bestowed  upon  the  minister's  representative,  except  the  ap- 
plause with  which  this  satire,  composed  of  actual  fustigation, 
was  received.  The  humorous  spectacle  absorbed  all  the  in- 
terest of  the  masquerade,  and  was  frequently  repeated.  It 
seemed  difficult  to  satisfy  the  general  desire  to  witness  a 
thorough  chastisement  of  the  culprit.* 

The  incident  made  a  great  noise  in  the  country.  The  car- 
dinalists  felt  naturally  very  much  enraged,  but  they  were  in  a 
minority.  No  censure  came  from  the  government  at  Brussels, 
and  Mansfeld  was  then  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  the 
main   pillar  of  royal  authority  in  the  Netherlands.      It  was 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  76,  77  ;  92-94. 


1564.]  THE    CARDINALISTS   EOUTED.  421 

sufficiently  obvious  that  Granvelle,  for  the  time  at  least,  was 
supported  by  no  party  of  any  influence. 

Meantime  he  remained  in  his  seclusion.  His  unpopularity 
did  not,  however,  decrease  in  his  absence.  More  than  a  year 
after  his  departure,  Berlaymont  said  the  nobles  detested  the 
Cardinal  more  than  ever,  and  would  eat  him  alive  if  they 
caught  him.*  The  chance  of  his  returning  was  dying  grad- 
ually out.  At  about  the  same  period  Chantonnay  advised  his 
brother  to  show  his  teeth.-j-  He  assured  Granvelle  that  he 
was  too  quiet  in  his  disgrace,  reminded  him  that  princes  had 
warm  affections  when  they  wished  to  make  use  of  people,  but 
that  when  they  could  have  them  too  cheaply,  they  esteemed 
them  but  little  ;  making  no  account  of  men  whom  they  were 
accustomed  to  see  under  their  feet.  He  urged  the  Cardinal, 
in  repeated  letters,  to  take  heart  again,  to  make  himself 
formidable,  and  to  rise  from  his  crouching  attitude.  All  the 
world  say,  he  remarked,  that  the  game  is  up  between  the  King 
and  yourself,  and  before  long  every  one  will  be  laughing  at  you, 
and  holding  you  for  a  dupe.J 

Stung  or  emboldened  by  these  remonstrances,  and  weary  of 
his  retirement,  Granvelle  at  last  abandoned  all  intention  of 
returning  to  the  Netherlands,  and  towards  the  end  of  1565, 
departed  to  Borne,  where  he  participated  in  the  election  of 
Pope  Pius  V.  Five  years  afterwards  he  was  employed  by 
Philip  to  negotiate  the  treaty  between  Spain,  Rome,  and 
Venice  against  the  Turk.  He  was  afterwards  Viceroy  of 
Naples,  and  in  1575,  he  removed  to  Madrid,  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  management  of  the  public  business,  "the  disorder 
of  which,"  says  the  Abbe  Boisot,  "  could  be  no  longer  arrested 
by  men  of  mediocre  capacity."§  He  died  in  that  city  on  the 
21st  September,  1586,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  and  was  buried 
at  Besan90n.ll 

We  have  dwelt  at  length   on  the  administration    of  this 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  235. 

f  " Monstrer  le  visage  et  les  dents,"  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  186,  187. 

X  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  184-187. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat     Notice  preliminairo  dc  M.  Ch.  Weisz  5  Ibid. 


422  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564 

remarkable  personage,  because  the  period  was  one  of  vital  im- 
portance in  the  history  of  the  Netherland  commonwealth. 
The  minister  who  deals  with  the  country  at  an  epoch  when 
civil  war  is  imminent,  has  at  least  as  heavy  a  responsibility 
upon  his  head  as  the  man  who  goes  forth  to  confront  the 
armed  and  full-grown  rebellion.  All  the  causes  out  of  which 
the  great  revolt  was  born,  were  in  violent  operation  during  the 
epoch  of  Granvelle's  power.  By  the  manner  in  which  he  com- 
ported himself  in  presence  of  those  dangerous  and  active 
elements  of  the  coming  convulsions,  must  his  character  as  a 
historical  personage  be  measured.  His  individuality  had  so 
much  to  do  with  the  course  of  the  government,  the  powers 
placed  in  his  hands  were  so  vast,  and  his  energy  so  untiring, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  his  in- 
fluence upon  the  destiny  of  the  country  which  he  was  permitted 
to  rule.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  have  been  at  great 
pains  to  present  his  picture,  sketched  as  it  were  by  his  own 
hand.  A  few  general  remarks  are,  however,  necessary.  It  is 
the  historian's  duty  to  fix  upon  one  plain  and  definite  canvas 
the  chameleon  colors  in  which  the  subtle  Cardinal  produced 
his  own  image.  Almost  any  theory  concerning  his  character 
might  be  laid  down  and  sustained  by  copious  citations  from 
his  works  ;  nay,  the  most  opposite  conclusions  as  to  his  in- 
terior nature,  may  be  often  drawn  from  a  single  one  of  his 
private  and  interminable  letters.  Embarked  under  his  guid- 
ance, it  is  often  difficult  to  comprehend  the  jooint  to  which 
we  are  tending.  The  oarsman's  face  beams  upon  us  with 
serenity,  but  he  looks  in  one  direction,  and  rows  in  the 
opposite  course.  Even  thus  it  was  three  centuries  ago.  Was 
it  to  be  wondered  at  that  many  did  not  see  the  precipice 
towards  which  the  bark  which  held  their  all  was  gliding  under 
the  same  impulse  ? 

No  man  has  ever  disputed  Granvelle's  talents.  From  friend 
and  foe  his  intellect  has  received  the  full  measure  of  applause 
which  it  could  ever  claim.  No  doubt  his  genius  was  of  a  rare 
and  subtle  kind.  His  great  power  was  essentially  dramatic 
in  its  nature.     He  mastered  the  characters  of  the  men  with 


1564.]  A   FINAL   DISSECTION.  423 

whom  lie  had  to  deal,  and  then  assumed  them.  He  practised 
this  art  mainly  upon  personages  of  exalted  station,  for  his 
scheme  was  to  govern  the  world  by  acquiring  dominion  over 
its  anointed  rulers.  A  smooth  and  supple  slave  in  appearance, 
but,  in  reality,  while  his  power  lasted,  the  despot  of  his  masters, 
he  exercised  boundless  control  by  enacting  their  parts  with 
such  fidelity  that  they  were  themselves  deceived.  It  is  impos- 
sible not  to  admire  the  facility  with  which  this  accomplished 
Proteus  successively  assumed  the  characters  of  Philip  and  of 
Margaret,  through  all  the  complicated  affairs  and  voluminous 
correspondence  of  his  government. 

When  envoys  of  high  rank  were  to  be  despatched  on  confiden- 
tial missions  to  Spain,  the  Cardinal  drew  their  instructions  as 
the  Duchess — threw  light  upon  their  supposed  motives  in 
secret  letters  as  the  King's  sister — and  answered  their  repre- 
sentations with  ponderous  wisdom  as  Philip)  ;  transmitting 
despatches,  letters  and  briefs  for  royal  conversations,  in  time 
to  be  thoroughly  studied  before  the  advent  of  the  ambassador. 
Whoever  travelled  from  Brussels  to  Madrid  in  order  to  escape 
the  influence  of  the  ubiquitous  Cardinal,  was  sure  to  be  con- 
fronted with  him  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  King's  cabinet 
as  soon  as  he  was  admitted  to  an  audience.  To  converse 
with  Philip  or  Margaret  was  but  to  commune  with  Antony. 
The  skill  with  which  he  played  his  game,  seated  quietly 
in  his  luxurious  villa,  now  stretching  forth  one  long  arm 
to  move  the  King  at  Madrid,  now  placing  Margaret  upon 
what  square  he  liked,  and  dealing  with  Bishops,  Knights 
of  the  Fleece,  and  lesser  dignitaries,  the  Eichardots,  the  Moril- 
lons,  the  Viglii  and  the  Berlaymonts,  with  sole  reference  to 
his  own  scheme  of  action,  was  truly  of  a  nature  to  excite  our 
special  wonder.  His  aptitude  for  affairs  and  his  power  to  read 
character  were  extraordinary  ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  the 
affairs  should  be  those  of  a  despotism,  and  the  characters 
of  an  inferior  nature.  He  could  read  Philip  and  Margaret, 
Egmont  or  Berlaymont,  Alva  or  Viglius,  but  he  had  no 
plummet  to  sound  the  depths  of  a  mind  like  that  of 
William  the    Silent.     His  genius  was  adroit  and  subtle,  but 


424  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [15G4. 

not  profound.  He  aimed  at  power  by  making  the  power- 
ful subservient,  but  he  had  not  the  intellect  which  deals  in 
the  daylight  face  to  face  with  great  events  and  great 
minds.  In  the  violent  political  struggle  of  which  his  ad- 
ministration consisted,  he  was  foiled  and  thrown  by  the 
superior  strength  of  a  man  whose  warfare  was  open  and 
manly,  and  who  had  no  defence  against  the  poisoned  weapons 
of  his  foe. 

His  literary  accomplishments  were  very  great.  His  fe- 
cundity was  prodigious,  and  he  wrote  at  will  in  seven 
languages.  This  polyglot  facility  was  not  in  itself  a  very 
remarkable  circumstance,  for  it  grew  out  of  his  necessary 
education  and  geographical  position.  Few  men  in  that 
age  and  region  were  limited  to  their  mother  tongue.  The 
Prince  of  Orange,  who  made  no  special  pretence  to  learning, 
possessed  at  least  five  languages.  Egmont,  who  was  ac- 
counted an  ignorant  man,  was  certainly  familiar  with  three. 
The  Cardinal,  however,  wrote  not  only  with  ease,  but  with 
remarkable  elegance,  vigor  and  vivacity,  in  whatever  lan- 
guage he  chose  to  adopt.  The  style  of  his  letters  and  other 
documents,  regarded  simply  as  compositions,  was  inferior  to 
that  of  no  writer  of  the  age.  His  occasional  orations,  too, 
were  esteemed  models  of  smooth  and  flowing  rhetoric,  at  an 
epoch  when  the  art  of  eloquence  was  not  much  cultivated. 
Yet  it  must  be  allowed  that  beneath  all  the  shallow  but 
harmonious  flow  of  his  periods,  it  would  be  idle  to  search  for 
a  grain  of  golden  sand.  Not  a  single  sterling,  manly  thought^ 
is  to  be  found  in  all  his  productions.  If  at  times  our  admiration 
i3  excited  with  the  appearance  of  a  gem  of  true  philosophy, 
we  are  soon  obliged  to  acknowledge,  on  closer  inspection, 
that  we  have  been  deceived  by  a  false  glitter.  In  retirement, 
his  solitude  was  not  relieved  by  serious  application  to  any 
branch  of  knowledge.  Devotion  to  science  and  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  learning,  a  virtue  which  has  changed  the 
infamy  of  even  baser  natures  than  his  into  glory,  never 
dignified  his  seclusion.  He  had  elegant  tastes,  he  built  fine 
palaces,  he  collected  paintings,  and  he  discoursed  of  the  line 


1564.]  OUTER  AND  INNER  STRUCTURE.  425 

arts  with  the  skill  and  eloquence  of  a  practised  connois- 
seur; but  the  nectared  fruits  of  divine  philosophy  were  but 
harsh  and  crabbed  to  him. 

His  moral  characteristics  are  even  more  difficult  to  seize 
than  his  intellectual  traits.  It  is  a  perplexing  task  to  arrive 
at  the  intimate  interior  structure  of  a  nature  which  hardly- 
had  an  interior.  He  did  not  change,  but  he  presented  him- 
self daily  in  different  aspects.  Certain  peculiarities  he  pos- 
sessed, however,  which  were  unquestionable.  He  was  always 
courageous,  generally  calm.  Placed  in  the  midst  of  a  nation 
which  hated  him,  exposed  to  the  furious  opposition  of  the 
most  powerful  adversaries,  having  hardly  a  friend,  except 
the  cowardly  Viglius  and  the  pluralist  Morillon,  secretly 
betrayed  by  Margaret  of  Parma,  insulted  by  rude  grandees, 
and  threatened  by  midnight  assassins,  he  never  lost  his 
self-possession,  his  smooth  arrogance,  his  fortitude.  He 
was  constitutionally  brave.  He  was  not  passionate  in  his 
resentments.  To  say  that  he  was  forgiving  by  nature  would 
be  an  immense  error  ;  but  that  he  could  put  aside  vengeance 
at  the  dictate  of  policy  is  very  certain.  He  could  temporize, 
even  after  the  reception  of  what  he  esteemed  grave  injuries, 
if  the  offenders  were  powerful.  He  never  manifested  rancor 
against  the  Duchess.  Even  after  his  fall  from  power  in  the 
Netherlands,  he  interceded  with  the  Pope  in  favor  of  the  prin- 
cipality of  Orange,  which  the  pontiff  was  disposed  to  confis- 
cate. The  Prince  was  at  that  time  as  good  a  Catholic  as 
the  Cardinal.  He  was  apparently  on  good  terms  with  his 
sovereign,  and  seemed  to  have  a  prosperous  career  before 
him.  He  was  not  a  personage  to  be  quarrelled  with.  At 
a  later  day,  when  the  position  of  that  great  man  was  most 
clearly  denned  to  the  world,  the  Cardinal's  ancient  affec- 
tion for  his  former  friend  and  pupil  did  not  prevent  him 
from  suggesting  the  famous  ban  by  which  a  price  was 
set  upon  his  head,  and  his  life  placed  in  the  hands  of 
every  assassin  in  Europe.  It  did  not  prevent  him  from 
indulging  in  the  jocularity  of  a  fiend,  when  the  news  of 
the    first-fruits    of   that   bounty  upon    murder    reached   his 


426  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

ears.*  It  did  not  prevent  him  from  laughing  merrily  at  the 
pain  which  his  old  friend  must  have  suffered,  shot  through  the 
head  and  face  with  a  musket-ball,  and  at  the  mutilated 
aspect  which  his  "  handsome  face  must  have  presented  to  the 
eyes  of  his  apostate  wife."f  It  did  not  prevent  him  from 
stoutly  disbelieving  and  then  refusing  to  be  comforted,  when 
the  recovery  of  the  illustrious  victim  was  announced.  He 
could  always  dissemble  without  entirely  forgetting  his  griev- 
ances. Certainly,  if  he  were  the  forgiving  Christian  he  pictured 
himself,  it  is  passing  strange  to  reflect  upon  the  ultimate  fate 
of  Egmont,  Horn,  Montigny,  Berghen,  Orange,  and  a  host  of 
others,  whose  relations  with  him  were  inimical. 

His  extravagance  was  enormous,  and  his  life  luxurious. 
At  the  same  time  he  could  leave  his  brother  Champagny — 
a  man,  with  all  his  faults,  of  a  noble  nature,  and  with 
scarcely  inferior  talents  to  his  own — to  languish  for  a 
long  time  in  abject  poverty,  supported  by  the  charity  of 
an  ancient  domestic.^  His  greediness  for  wealth  was  pro- 
verbial. No  benefice  was  too  large  or  too  paltry  to  escape 
absorption,  if  placed  within  his  possible  reach.  Loaded  with 
places  and  preferments,  rolling  in  wealth,  he  approached 
his  sovereign  with  the  whine  of  a  mendicant.  He  talked  of 
his  property  as  a  "  misery,"  when   he  asked  for  boons,  and 


*  "  Les  nouvelles,"  wrote  Granvelle  to  Fonck,  "  qui  arrivent  de  la  mort  du 

P=e   d'Orange  ne   sont  pas   mauvaises — Dieu  soit  hue   de    tout." "L'on  ha 

envoye  le  Prince  d'Orange,"  he  wrote  to  Bellefontaine,  "  en  l'autre  monde,  que 
y  fut  este  mieulx  il  y  a  xx  ans."  Again,  a  few  days  later,  "C'est  dommaigo 
que  le  Pr.  d'Or,  ne  soit  mort  dois  long  terns." "  Maintenant  viennent  nou- 
velles que  le  P.  d'Or.  est  trespasse.  II  ha  vescu  plus  de  xx  ans  plus  qu'il  ne  con- 
venoit." — Archives  et  Correspondance,  viii.  16,  11. 

\  "  Le  Prince  d'Orange  ha  endure  une  poyne  extreme,  et  vous  pensez  quel  etoit 
eon  beau  visaige  pour  donner  contentement  A  sa  nonnain  apostate." — Ibid. 

\  "  J'avois  presque  oublie  de  vous  mander  1'extreme  pauvrete  oil  se  retrouve 
a  present  le  Sr.  de  Champagney  comme  appert  par  les  lettres  qu'il  escrit  bien 
souvent  au  maistre  des  comptes  Appeltain  qui  fut  aultre  fois  son  secretaire,  et 
de  qui  seul  il  est  a  present  alimente  et  sustenteV' — Extract  of  a  letter  of  15th 
December,  1576,  in  a  large  MS.  collection  of  letters  and  documents  in  the 
Brussels  Archives,  entitled  "Reconciliation  des  Provinces  Wallones."  Archives 
du  Royaume.     Papiers  d'Etat,  ii.  £  160 


1564.]  CONFUSION   OF   COLORS.  427 

expressed  his  thanks  in  the  language  of  a  slave  when  he  re- 
ceived them.  Having  obtained  the  abbey  of  St.  Armand,  he 
could  hardly  wait  for  the  burial  of  the  Bishop  of  Tournay  be- 
fore claiming  the  vast  revenues  of  Afflighem,  assuring  the  King 
as  he  did  so  that  his  annual  income  was  but  eighteen  thousand 
crowns.*  At  the  same  time,  while  thus  receiving  or  pursuing 
the  vast  rents  of  St.  Armand  and  Afflighem,  he  could  seize  the 
abbey  of  Trulle  from  the  expectant  hands  of  poor  dependents, 
and  accept  tapestries  and  hogsheads  of  wine  from  Jacques  Le- 
quien  and  others,  as  a  tax  on  the  benefices  which  he  procured 
for  them.  Yet  the  man  who,  like  his  father  before  him,  had 
so  long  fattened  on  the  public  money,  who  at  an  early  day 
had  incurred  the  Emperor's  sharp  reproof  for  his  covetousness, 
whose  family,  beside  all  these  salaries  and  personal  property, 
possessed  already  fragments  of  the  royal  domain,  in  the  shape 
of  nineteen  baronies  and  seigniories  in  Burgundy,  besides  the 
county  of  Cantecroix  and  other  estates  in  the  Netherlands, 
had  the  effrontery  to  affirm,  "  We  have  always  rather  regarded 
the  service  of  the  master  than  our  own  particular  profit/'f 

In  estimating  the  conduct  of  the  minister,  in  relation  to 
the  provinces,  we  are  met  upon  the  threshold  by  a  swarm  of 
vague  assertions  which  are  of  a  nature  to  blind  or  distract  the 
judgment.  His  character  must  be  judged  as  a  whole,  and  by 
its  general  results,  with  a  careful  allowance  for  contradictions 
and  equivocations.  Truth  is  clear  and  single,  but  the  lights 
are  parti-colored  and  refracted  in  the  prism  of  hypocrisy. 
The  great  feature  of  his  administration  was  a  prolonged  con- 
flict between  himself  and  the  leading  seigniors  of  the  Nether- 
lands. The  ground  of  the  combat  was  the  religious  question, 
Let  the  quarrel  be  turned  or  tortured  in  any  manner  that  hu- 
man ingenuity  can  devise,  it  still  remains  unquestionable  that 
Granvelle's  main  object  was  to  strengthen  and  to  extend  the 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  33G. — Compare  Gr.  v.  Prinst.  Archives  et 
Correspondance,  i.  342. 

f  "  Car  nous  avons  tousjours  plus  regarde  au  prouffit  et  service  du  maistre 
que  a  nostre  particulier." — Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  448. 


428  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564, 

inquisition,  that  of  his  adversaries  to  overthrow  the  institu- 
tion. It  followed,  necessarily,  that  the  ancient  charters  were 
to  be  trampled  in  the  dust  before  that  tribunal  could  be  tri- 
umphant. The  nobles,  although  all  Catholics,  defended  the 
cause  of  the  poor  religious  martyrs,  the  privileges  of  the 
nation  and  the  rights  of  their  order.  They  were  conserva- 
tives, battling  for  the  existence  of  certain  great  facts,  entirely 
consonant  to  any  theory  of  justice  and  divine  reason — for 
ancient  constitutions  which  had  been  purchased  with  blood 
and  treasure.  "  I  will  maintain,"  was  the  motto  of  William 
of  Orange.  Philip,  bigoted  and  absolute  almost  beyond  com- 
prehension, might  perhaps  have  proved  impervious  to  any 
representations,  even  of  Grranvelle.  Nevertheless,  the  minis- 
ter might  have  attempted  the  task,  and  the  responsibility  is 
heavy  upon  the  man  who  shared  the  power  and  directed  the 
career,  but  who  never  ceased  to  represent  the  generous  resist- 
ance of  individuals  to  frantic  cruelty,  as  offences  against  God 
and  the  King. 

Yet  extracts  are  drawn  from  his  letters  to  prove  that  he 
considered  the  Spaniards  as  "  proud  and  usurping,"  that  he 
indignantly  denied  ever  having  been  in  favor  of  subjecting 
the  Netherlands  to  the  soldiers  of  that  nation  ;  that  he  recom- 
mended the  withdrawal  of  the  foreign  regiments,  and  that  he 
advised  the  King,  when  he  came  to  the  country,  to  bring  with 
him  but  few  Spanish  troops.  It  should,  however,  be  remem- 
bered that  he  employed,  according  to  his  own  statements, 
every  expedient  which  human  ingenuity  could  suggest  to 
,keep  the  foreign  soldiers  in  the  provinces,  that  he  "  lamented 
to  his  inmost  soul"  their  forced  departure,  and  that  he  did 
not  consent  to  that  measure  until  the  people  were  in  a  tumult, 
and  the  Zealanders  threatening  to  lay  the  country  under  the 
ocean.  "  You  may  judge  of  the  means  employed  to  excite  the 
people,"  he  wrote  to  Perez  in  1563,  "  by  the  fact  that  a 
report  is  circulated  that  the  Duke  of  Alva  is  coming  hither  to 
tyrannize  the  provinces."*     Yet  it  appears  by  the  admissions 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  250. 


1564.]        GRANVELLE  AGAINST  GRANVELLE.  429 

of  Del  Ryo,  one  of  Alva's  blood  council,  that,  "  Cardinal  Gram 
velle  expressly  advised  that  an  army  of  Spaniards  should  be 
sent  to  the  Netherlands,  to  maintain  the  obedience  to  his 
Majesty  and  the  Catholic  religion,  and  that  the  Duke  of  Alva 
was  appointed  chief  by  the  advice  of  Cardinal  Spinosa,  and  by 
that  of  Cardinal  Granvelle,  as  appeared  by  many  letters  writ- 
ten at  the  time  to  his  friends."*  By  the  same  confessions,  it 
appeared  that  the  course  of  policy  thus  distinctly  recom- 
mended by  Granvelle,  "  was  to  place  the  country  under  a 
system  of  government  like  that  of  Spain  and  Italy,  and  tc 
reduce  it  entirely  under  the  council  of  Spain/'f  When  the 
terrible  Duke  started  on  his  errand  of  blood  and  fire,  the  Car- 
dinal addressed  him  a  letter  of  fulsome  flattery,  protesting 
"  that  all  the  world  knew  that  no  person  could  be  found  so 
appropriate  as  he,  to  be  employed  in  an  affair  of  such  import- 
ance ;"  urging  him  to  advance  with  his  army  as  rapidly  as 
possible  upon  the  Netherlands,  hoping  that  "  the  Duchess  of 
Parma  would  not  be  allowed  to  consent  that  any  pardon  or 
concession  should  be  made  to  the  cities,  by  which  the  con- 
struction of  fortresses  would  be  interfered  with,  or  the  revo- 
cation of  the  charters  which  had  been  forfeited,  be  pre- 
vented," and  giving  him  much  advice  as  to  the  general 
measures  to  be  adopted,  and  the  persons  to  be  employed  upon 
his  arrival,  in  which  number  the  infamous  Noircarmes  was 
especially  recommended.^     In  a  document  found  among  his 


*  The  confessions  of  Del  Ryo  have  been  printed  in  tho  "  Messager  des  Arts  et 
Sciences."— Gand,  1838,  p.  466,  sqq.  f  Ibid. 

\  This  remarkable  letter  has  never  been  published.  It  is  not  in  the  Besancor 
Collection,  but  is  among  a  quantity  of  letters  written  by  Granvelle  when  at  Rome, 
and  which  are  now  in  the  Bibliotheque  de  Bourgogne  at  Brussels.  Its  date  is 
May  16,  1567.  "Todavia,"  says  the  Cardinal  to  the  Duke,  "por  ser  todo  en 
tanto  servicio  de  Dios  y  de  su  Md.  y  en  tanta  reputacion  de  Va.  Ex*,  viendo  todo 
el  mundo  que  no  se  podia  emplear  persona  que  en  cosa  de  tanta  importancia  fuesse 

tanto  d  propositi. No  querria  que  Madama  se  dexasse  persuadir  a  que  (non 

obstante  de  lo  quo  su  Magd .  lo  ha  scripto)  consintiesse  algo  a  las  dichas  villas 
perdonando  o  de  otra  manera  que  estorvaze  a  su  Magd.  el  camino  q  tiene  para 
hazer  fortalezas  donde  sera  menester  y  de  podcr  moderar  los  privilegios  a  las  qui 
han  perdido  spetialmente a  que  la  corte  no  pudiesse  provcer  a  poner  en  eUas 


430  THE    EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

papers,  these  same  points,  with  others,  were  handled  at  con- 
siderable length.  The  incorporation  of  the  provinces  into  one 
kingdom,  of  which  the  King  was  to  be  crowned  absolute  sov- 
ereign ;  the  establishment  of  a  universal  law  for  the  Catholic 
religion,  care  being  taken  not  to  call  that  law  inquisition, 
"  because  there  was  nothing  so  odious  to  the  northern  nations 
as  the  word  Spanish  Inquisition,  although  the  thing  in  itself 
be  most  holy  and  just;"*  the  abolition  and  annihilation  of, 
the  broad  or  general  council  in  the  cities,  the  only  popular 
representation  in  the  country  ;  the  construction  of  many  cita- 
dels and  fortresses  to  be  garrisoned  with  Spaniards,  Italians, 
and  Germans.  Such  were  the  leading  features  in  that  remark- 
able paper.f 

The  manly  and  open  opposition  of  the  nobles  was  stigmatized 
as  a  cabal  by  the  offended  priest.  He  repeatedly  whispered 
in  the  royal  ear  that  their  league  was  a  treasonable  conspiracy, 
which  the  Attorney-General  ought  to  prosecute  ;  that  the 
seigniors  meant  to  subvert  entirely  the  authority  of  the  Sov- 
ereign ;  that  they  meant  to  put  their  King  under  tutelage,  to 
compel  him  to  obey  all  their  commands,  to  choose  another 
prince  of  the  blood  for  their  chief,  to  establish  a  republic  by 
the  aid  of  foreign  troops.  If  such  insinuations,  distilled  thus 
secretly  into  the  ear  of  Philip,  who,  like  his  predecessor, 
Dionysius,  took  pleasure  in  listening  daily  to  charges  against 


el  govierno  y  orden  que  convenia  por  su  proprio  bcneficio. Aremberg,  Berlay- 

mcnt,  Yiglius  de   quo   se  puede  V* .  Ex",  fiar.     Dr.  Luis  del  Rio  y  Cortevillo 

podran  dar  a  Va.  Ex*,  luz  de  lo  que  huvierc  de  hablar Koircarmes  conosco 

V.  E\  quo  lo  ha  hecho  muy  bien,  etc.,  etc, 

*  "Bien  entendu  que  la  dicte  loy  generalle  ne  soit  en  aulcuno  maniero 
appellee  Inquisition,  a  cause  quo  naturellement  il  n'y  a  chose  qui  soit  tant 
odieuse  a  ces  nations  septentrionales  que  ce  vocable  do  V Inquisition  d'Espaigne, 
nonobstant  que  la  chose  de  soy  mesme  et  de  son  commencement  soit  saincte  et 
honneste." 

f  Gr.  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  Supplement,  73-79. — The  document  is 
taken  from  the  Granvelle  Collection  of  papers  at  Besanoon.  It  is  not  stated 
whether  it  is  from  the  Cardinal's  pen,  but  there  are  certain  expressions  which 
(as  well  as  its  general  tone)  seem  to  point  out  the  author  beyond  any  reasonable 
doubt 


1564.]  INNUENDO.  431 

his  subjects  and  to  the  groans  of  his  prisoners,*  were  not  likely 
to  engender  a  dangerous  gangrene  in  the  royal  mind,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  indicate  any  course  which  would  produce  such 
a  result.  Yet  the  Cardinal  maintained  that  he  had  never  done 
the  gentlemen  ill  service,  but  that  "they  were  angry  with 
him  for  wishing  to  sustain  the  authority  of  the  master."  In 
almost  every  letter  he  expressed  vague  generalities  of  excuse, 
or  even  approbation,  while  he  chronicled  each  daily  fact 
which  occurred  to  their  discredit.  The  facts  he  particularly 
implored  the  King  to  keep  to  himself,  the  vague  laudation  he 
as  urgently  requested  him  to  repeat  to  those  interested.  Per- 
petually dropping  small  innuendos  like  pebbles  into  the  depths 
of  his  master's  suspicious  soul,  he  knew  that  at  last  the 
waters  of  bitterness  would  overflow,  but  he  turned  an  ever- 
smiling  face  upon  those  who  were  to  be  his  victims.  There 
was  ever  something  in  his  irony  like  the  bland  request  of  the 
inquisitor  to  the  executioner  that  he  would  deal  with  his  pris- 
oners gently.  There  was  about  the  same  result  in  regard  to 
such  a  prayer  to  be  expected  from  Philip  as  from  the  hang- 
man. Even  if  his  criticisms  had  been  uniformly  indulgent, 
the  position  of  the  nobles  and  leading  citizens  thus  subjected 
to  a  constant  but  secret  superintendence,  would  have  been  too 
galling  to  be  tolerated.  They  did  not  know,  so  precisely  as 
we  have  learned  after  three  centuries,  that  all  their  idle  words 
and  careless  gestures  as  well  as  their  graver  proceedings,  were 
kept  in  a  noting  book  to  be  pored  over  and  conned  by  rote  in 
the  recesses  of  the  royal  cabinet  and  the  royal  mind  ;  but 
they  suspected  the  espionage  of  the  Cardinal,  and  they  openly 
charged  him  with  his  secret  malignity. 

The  men  who  refused  to  burn  their  fellow-creatures  for  a 
difference   in   religious   opinion   were    stigmatized    as   dema- 


*  "  L'Archev^que  de  Cambray,"  writes  Morillon  to  Granvelle,  "m'at  compte 
que  le  Roy  survint  ou  il  ouyt  dire  Montigny  sans  elre  veu  de  luy,  que  le  Roy 
pouvoit  faire  ce  qu'il  vouloit,  mas  qu'il  ne  gaigneroit  rien  quant  au  Cardinal  et 
que  les  Seigneurs  n'en  vouloient  poinct,"  etc. — Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc, 
supplement,  85*. 


432  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

gogues  ;  as  ruined  spendthrifts  who  wished  to  escape  from 
their  liabilities  in  the  midst  of  revolutionary  confusion  ; 
as  disguised  heretics  who  were  waiting  for  a  good  op- 
portunity to  reveal  their  true  characters.  Montigny,  who, 
as  a  Montmorency,  was  nearly  allied  to  the  Constable 
and  Admiral  of  France,  and  was  in  epistolary  correspond- 
ence with  those  relatives,  was  held  up  as  a  Huguenot ; 
of  course,  therefore,  in  Philip's  eye,  the  most  monstrous  of 
malefactors.* 

Although  no  man  could  strew  pious  reflections  and  holy 
texts  more  liberally,  yet  there  was  always  an  afterthought 
even  in  his  most  edifying  letters.  A  corner  of  the  mask  is 
occasionally  lifted  and  the  deadly  face  of  slow  but  abiding 
vengeance  is  revealed.  "  I  know  very  well,"  he  wrote,  soon  after 
his  fall,  to  Viglius,  "  that  vengeance  is  the  Lord's — God  is  my 
witness  that  I  pardon  all  the  past."  In  the  same  letter,  never- 
theless, he  added,  "  My  theology,  however,  does  not  teach  me, 
that  by  enduring,  one  is  to  enable  one's  enemies  to  commit 
even  greater  wrongs.  If  the  royal  justice  is  not  soon  put  into 
play,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  right  myself.  This  thing  is  going 
on  too  long — patience  exhausted  changes  to  fury.  'Tis  neces- 
sary that  every  man  should  assist  himself  as  he  can,  and  when 
I  choose  to  throw  the  game  into  confusion  I  shall  do  it  per- 
haps more  notably  than  the  others."  A  few  weeks  afterwards, 
writing  to  the  same  correspondent,  he  observed,  "We  shall 
have  to  turn  again,  and  rejoice  together.  Whatever  the  King 
commands  I  shall  do,  even  were  I  to  march  into  the  fire, 
whatever  happens,  and  without  fear  or  respect  for  any  person 
— I  mean  to  remain  the  same  man  to  the  end — Durate  ; — and  I 
have  a  head  that  is  hard  enough  when  I  do  undertake  any 


°  That  both  Montigny  and  his  brother,  Count  Horn,  were  Catholics,  sufficiently 
appears  from  this  extract  from  a  private  letter  of  Montigny,  written  from 
Spain  early  in  1567  : — "  J'ai  recu  un  grand  contentement  de  l'asseurance  que  mo 
donnez  que  nuls  ne  basteront  de  vous  faire  changer  d'opiniou,  en  chose  qui 
touche  le  fait  de  la  religion  anchienne,  qui  est  certes  conforme  a  ce  que  j'en  ay 
tousjours  fermement  penae  et  cru,  ors  que  le  diable  est  subtil  et  ses  ministres." — 
Willems.  Mengelingen  van  Vaderlandschen  inhoud.     No.  5,  p.  333. 


1564.]  TREATMENT   OF   EGMONT.  433 

thing — nee  cnimum  despondeo."*  Here,  certainly,  was  signif- 
icant foreshadowing  of  the  general  wrath  to  come,  and  it  was 
therefore  of  less  consequence  that  the  portraits  painted  by  him 
of  Berghen,  Horn,  Montigny,  and  others,  were  so  rarely 
relieved  by  the  more  flattering  tints  which  he  occasionally 
mingled  with  the  sombre  coloring  of  his  other  pictures.  Espe- 
cially with  regard  to  Count  Egmont,  his  conduct  was  some- 
what perplexing  and,  at  first  sight,  almost  inscrutable.  That 
nobleman  had  been  most  violent  in  opposition  to  his  course, 
had  drawn  a  dagger  upon  him,  had  frequently  covered  him 
with  personal  abuse,  and  had  crowned  his  offensive  conduct  by 
the  invention  of  the  memorable  fool's-cap  livery.  Yet  the 
Cardinal  usually  spoke  of  him  with  pity  and  gentle  considera- 
tion, described  him  as  really  well  disposed  in  the  main,  as 
misled  by  others,  as  a  "  friend  of  smoke,"  who  might  easily  be 
gained  by  flattery  and  bribery.  When  there  was  question  of 
the  Count's  going  to  Madrid,  the  Cardinal  renewed  his  compli- 
ments with  additional  expression  of  eagerness  that  they  should 
be  communicated  to  their  object.  Whence  all  this  Christian 
meekness  in  the  author  of  the  Ban  against  Orange  and  the 
eulogist  of  Alva  ?  The  true  explanation  of  this  endurance  on 
the  part  of  the  Cardinal  lies  in  the  estimate  which  he  had 
formed  of  Egmont's  character.  Granvelle  had  taken  the  man's 
measure,  and  even  he  could  not  foresee  the  unparalleled  cruelty 
and  dulness  which  were  eventually  to  characterize  Philip's 
conduct  towards  him.  On  the  contrary,  there  was  every  reason 
why  the  Cardinal  should  see  in  the  Count  a  personage  whom 
brilliant  services,  illustrious  rank,  and  powerful  connexions, 
had  marked  for  a  prosperous  future.  It  was  even  currently 
asserted  that  Philip  was  about  to  create  him  Governor-Gene- 
ral of  the  Netherlands,  in  order  to  detach  him  entirely  from 
Orange,  and  to  bind  him  more  closely  to  the  Crown.f     He  was, 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  etc.,  i.  287,  288,  311,  312.— Compare  Corre 
spondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  301. 

f  " le  Roy,  qui  avoit,  comme  aucuns  veullent  dire,  delibere  de  Thonorer 

du  gouvernement  general  du  Pays-Bas  pour  l'obliger  tant  plus  etroictement  a  sou 

vol.  i.  28 


434  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   KEPUBLIC-  [1564. 

therefore,  a  man  to  be  forgiven.  Nothing  apparently  but  a 
suspicion  of  heresy  could  damage  the  prospects  of  the  great 
noble,  and  Egmont  was  orthodox  beyond  all  peradventure. 
He  was  even  a  bigot  in  the  Catholic  faith.  He  had  privately 
told  the  Duchess  of  Parma  that  he  had  always  been  desirous 
of  seeing  the  edicts  thoroughly  enforced  ;  and  he  denounced 
as  enemies  all  those  persons  who  charged  him  with  ever  having 
been  in  favor  of  mitigating  the  system.*  He  was  reported,  to 
be  sure,  at  about  the  time  of  Granvelle's  departure  from  the 
Netherlands,  to  have  said  " post  pocula,  that  the  quarrel  was 
not  with  the  Cardinal,  but  with  the  King,  who  was  adminis- 
tering the  public  affairs  very  badly,  even  in  the  matter  of  relig- 
ion." Such  a  bravado,  however,  uttered  by  a  gentleman  in  his 
cups,  when  flushed  with  a  recent  political  triumph,  could 
hardly  outweigh  in  the  cautious  calculations  of  G-ranvelle,  dis- 
tinct admissions  in  favor  of  persecution.  Egmont  in  truth 
stood  in  fear  of  the  inquisition.  The  hero  of  Gravelingen  and 
St.  Quentin  actually  trembled  before  Peter  Titelmann.f  More- 
over, notwithstanding  all  that  had  past,  he  had  experienced  a 
change  in  his  sentiments  in  regard  to  the  Cardinal.  He  fre- 
quently expressed  the  opinion  that,  although  his  presence  in 
the  Netherlands  was  inadmissible,  he  should  be  glad  to  see 
him  Pope.  He  had  expressed  strong  disapprobation  of  the 
buffooning  masquerade  by  which  he  had  been  ridiculed  at  the 
Mansfeld  christening  party.  When  at  Madrid  he  not  only 
spoke  well  of  Granvelle  himself,  but  would  allow  nothing  dis- 
paraging concerning  him  to  be  uttered  in  his  presence. %  When, 
however,  Egmont  had  fallen  from  favor,  and  was  already  a 
prisoner,  the  Cardinal  diligently  exerted  himself  to  place  under 
the  King's  eye  what  he  considered  the  most  damning  evidence 
of  the  Count's  imaginary  treason  ;  a  document  with  which  the 
public  prosecutor  had  not  been  made  acquainted. 


service  et  de  distraire  de  l'arnitie  du  P':e  d'Orange,  duquel  il  se  deficit  ouverte- 
ment." — Pontus  Payen  MS.  *  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  121,  andix.  217. 

f  "  Et  quod  mihi  maxime  placet,  Egmondanus  multum  timet  Titelmannum." — 
Morillon  to  Granvelle.     Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  425. 

%  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  115-427;  viii.  92-94;  ix.  565. 


1564.]  STTAVITER   ET  EOKTITER.  435 

Thus,  it  will  "be  seen  by  this  retrospect  how  difficult  it  is  to 
seize  all  the  shifting  subtleties  of  this  remarkable  character. 
His  sophisms  even,  when  self-contradictory,  are  so  adroit  that 
they  are  often  hard  to  parry.  He  made  a  great  merit  to 
himself  for  not  having  originated  the  new  episcopates  ;  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  he  did  his  utmost  to  enforce  the 
measure,  which  was  "  so  holy  a  scheme  that  he  would  sacrifice 
for.  its  success  his  fortune  and  his  life."  He  refused  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Mechlin,  but  his  motives  for  so  doing  were 
entirely  sordid.  His  revenues  were  for  the  moment  diminished, 
while  his  personal  distinction  was  not,  in  his  opinion,  increased 
by  the  promotion.  He  refused  to  accept  it  because  "  it  was  no 
addition  to  his  dignity,  as  he  was  already  Cardinal  and  Bishop 
of  Arras,"*  but  in  this  statement  he  committed  an  important 
anachronism.  He  was  not  Cardinal  when  he  refused  the  see 
of  Mechlin  ;  having  received  the  red  hat  upon  February  26, 
1561,  and  having  already  accepted  the  archbishopric  in  May  of 
the  preceding  year.f  He  affirmed  that  "  no  man  would  more 
resolutely  defend  the  liberty  and  privileges  of  the  provinces 
than  he  would  do,"  but  he  preferred  being  tyrannized  by  his 
prince,  to  maintaining  the  joyful  entrance.  He  complained 
of  the  insolence  of  the  states  in  meddling  with  the  supplies  ; 
he  denounced  the  convocation  of  the  representative  bodies,  by 
whose  action  alone,  what  there  was  of  "  liberty  and  privilege" 
in  the  land  could  be  guarded  ;  he  recommended  the  entire 
abolition  of  the  common  councils  in  the  cities.  He  described 
himself  as  having  always  combated  the  opinion  that  "any 
thing  could  be  accomplished  by  terror,  death  and  violence," 
yet  he  recommended  the  mission  of  Alva,  in  whom  "  terror, 
death,  and  violence"  were  incarnate.  He  was  indignant  that 
he  should  be  accused  of  having  advised  the  introduction  of  the 
Spanish  inquisition  ;  but  his  reason  was  that  the  term  sounded 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  76. — "Pour  que  il  est  plus  honorable  estre 
ung  de  quatre  que  ung  de  dix-sept,  et  n'avoir  besoing  de  ce  titre  pour  croistre  de 
dignite  eslant  yd  Cardinal  avec  I'Evesche  d' Arras,  et  quant  au  prouffit  je  feroy 
apparoir  qu'au  revenu  que  jo  y  ay  receu  perte  notable,"  etc. 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  vi.  96-98,  and  296,  297. 


436  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

disagreeably  in  northern  ears,  while  the  tiling  was  most  com- 
mendable. He  manifested  much  anxiety  that  the  public 
should  be  disabused  of  their  fear  of  the  Spanish  inquisi- 
tion, but  he  was  the  indefatigable  supporter  of  the  Nether- 
land  inquisition,  which  Philip  declared  with  reason  to  be 
"the  more  pitiless  institution"  of  the  two.  He  was  the 
author,  not  of  the  edicts,  but  of  their  re-enactment,  verbally 
and  literally,  in  all  the  horrid  extent  to  which  they  had  been 
carried  by  Charles  the  Fifth  ;  and  had  recommended  the  use 
of  the  Emperor's  name  to  sanctify  the  infernal  scheme.  He 
busied  himself  personally  in  the  execution  of  these  horrible 
laws,  even  when  judge  and  hangman  slackened.  To  the  last 
he  denounced  all  those  "  who  should  counsel  his  Majesty  to 
permit  a  moderation  of  the  edicts,"  and  warned  the  King  that 
if  he  should  consent  to  the  least  mitigation  of  their  provisions, 
things  would  go  worse  in  the  provinces  than  in  France.0  He- 
was  diligent  in  establishing  the  reinforced  episcopal  inquisi- 
tion side  by  side  with  these  edicts,  and  with  the  papal  inqui- 
sition already  in  full  operation.  He  omitted  no  occasion  of 
encouraging  the  industry  of  all  these  various  branches  in  the 
business  of  persecution.  When  at  last  the  loud  cry  from  the 
oppressed  inhabitants  of  Flanders  was  uttered  in  unanimouo 
denunciation  by  the  four  estates  of  that  province  of  the 
infamous  Titelmann,  the  Cardinal's  voice,  from  the  depths  of 
his  luxurious  solitude,  was  heard,  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
poor  innocent  Y^retches,  who  were  daily  dragged  from  their 
humble  homes  to  perish  by  sword  and  fire,  but  in  pity  for  the 
inquisitor  who  was  doing  the  work  of  hell.  "  I  deeply  regret," 
he  wrote  to  Viglius,  "  that  the  states  of  Flanders  should  be 
pouting  at  inquisitor  Titelmann.  Truly  he  has  good  zeal, 
although  sometimes  indiscreet  and  noisy  ;  still  he  must  be 
supported,  lest  they  put  a  bridle  upon  him,  by  which  his 
authority  will  be  quite  enervated. "f  The  reader  who  is 
acquainted  with  the  personality  of  Peter  Titelmann  can  decide 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  480. — Compare  Correspondance  do  Philippe  II.,  i.  323. 
f  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  460,  461. 


1564.]  THE   MASK   LIFTED.  437 

as  to  the  real  benignity  of  the  joyous  epicurean  who  could  thus 
commend  and  encourage  such  a  monster  of  cruelty. 

If  popularity  be  a  test  of  merit  in  a  public  man,  it  certainly 
could  not  be  claimed  by  the  Cardinal.  From  the  moment 
when  Gresham  declared  him  to  be  "  hated  of  all  men/'  down 
to  the  period  of  his  departure,  the  odium  resting  upon 
him  had  been  rapidly  extending.  He  came  to  the  country 
with  two  grave  accusations  resting  upon  his  name.  The 
Emperor  Maximilian  asserted  that  the  Cardinal  had  at- 
tempted to  take  his  life  by  poison,  and  he  persisted  in  the 
truth  of  the  charge  thus  made  by  him,  till  the  day  of  his 
death.*  Another  accusation  was  more  generally  credited. 
He  was  the  author  of  the  memorable  forgery  by  which  the 
Landgrave  Philip  of  Hesse  had  been  entrapped  into  his  long 
imprisonment.f  His  course  in  and  towards  the  Netherlands 
has  been  sufficiently  examined.     Not  a  single  charge  has  been 


°  Apologie  d'Orange,  26. — The  accusation  is  also  alluded  to  in  a  pamphlet 
published  at  the  time  of  the  attempted  assassination,  by  Jaureguy,  of  Orange. 
"  Tu  t'es  bien  ose  addresser  par  commandement  de  ton  maistre  au  feu  Empe- 
reur  Lfaximilien,  lorsqu'il  estoit  encores  Roy  de  Boheme,  et  tu  I'as  empoisonne ; 
ce  qu'il  a  declaire  jusques  a  la  fin  de  sa  vie,  mais  ne  l'osoit  publier  pour  n'irriter 
ton  maitre." — Discours  surla  blessure  do  Monseigneur  le  Pce  d'Orange.  Imprimd 
en  Tan  1532. 

f  The  story  is  disputed.  Hormayr,  in  the  Austrian  Plutarch,  denounces  it 
as  a  "childish  fabrication,  as  a  false  and  miserable  invention."  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who,  being  at  that  period  a  favorite  page  of  the  Em- 
peror, was  accustomed  to  hear  and  remember  many  state  secrets,  alludes  most 
unequivocally  to  the  chargo  in  a  letter  written  in  1574.  "Se  souvenant  tous 
jours  des  mots  ewig  und  einig  qui  fust  faict  cydevant  au  contract  de  feu  Land- 
grave de  Hessen." — Archives  et  Correspondance,  v.  63.  It  is  true  that  the  princo 
does  not  here  distinctly  accuse  the  Cardinal  (then  Bishop  of  Arras)  of  the  trick, 
but  his  name  was  inseparable  from  the  anecdote,  whether  true  or  false.  "  II  est 
vrai,"  says  de  Thou  (torn,  i.,  liv.  iv.  267),  "  qu'on  attribua  une  conduite  si  lache  a 
1'Eveque  d' Arras,  homme  fourbe  et  ruse,  qui  par  l'aiteration  d'une  seule  lettre 
(he  then  explains  the  trick  in  a  note)  avoit  eu  le  secret  de  tromper  lo  Landgrave." 
Von  Rommel  relates  the  story  in  the  same  way.  Philipp  d.  Grossmiith,  i.  536- 
542.  Cited  by  Groen  v.  Prinst,  v.  65.  Von  Raumer,  Ges.  Eur.,  i.  548,  speaks 
of  the  circumstance  as  a  misunderstanding,  and  not  a  perfidy.  Groen  van  Prins- 
terer,  after  handling  the  subject  with  his  usual  acuteness  and  learning,  maintains 
the  truth  of  the  anecdote. — Archives  et  Correspondance,  v.  65,  66. 


438  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

made  lightly,  but  only  after  careful  sifting  of  evidence.  More- 
over they  are  all  sustained  mainly  from  the  criminal's  own 
lips.  Yet  when  the  secrecy  of  the  Spanish  cabinet  and  the 
Macchiavellian  scheme  of  policy  by  which  the  age  was  charac- 
terized are  considered,  it  is  not  strange  that  there  should  have 
been  misunderstandings  and  contradictions  with  regard  to  the 
man's  character  till  a  full  light  had  been  thrown  upon  it  by 
the  disinterment  of  ancient  documents.  The  word  "  Durate," 
which  was  the  Cardinals  device,  may  well  be  inscribed  upon 
his  mask,  which  has  at  last  been  torn  aside,  but  which  was 
formed  of  such  durable  materials,  that  it  has  deceived  the 
world  for  three  centuries. 


CHAPTER   V. 


Return  of  the  three  seigniors  to  the  state  council — Policy  of  Orange — Corrupt 
character  of  the  government — Efforts  of  the  Prince  in  favor  of  reform — In- 
fluence of  Armenteros — Painful  situation  of  Viglius — His  anxiety  to  retire 
— Secret  charges  against  him  transmitted  by  the  Duchess  to  Philip — Omin- 
ous signs  of  the  times — Attention  of  Philip  to  the  details  of  persecution — 
Execution  of  Fabricius,  and  tumult  at  Antwerp — Horrible  cruelty  towards 
the  Protestants — Remonstrance  of  the  Magistracy  of  Bruges  and  of  the  four 
Flemish  estates  against  Titelmann — Obduracy  of  Philip — Council  of  Trent — 
Quarrel  for  precedence  between  the  French  and  Spanish  envoys — Order  for 
the  publication  of  the  Trent  decrees  in  the  Netherlands — Opposition  to  the 
measure — Reluctance  of  the  Duchess — Egmont  accepts  a  mission  to  Spain 
— Violent  debate  in  the  council  concerning  his  instructions — Remarkable 
speech  of  Orange — Apoplexy  of  Viglius — Temporary  appointment  of  Hopper 
— Departure  of  Egmont — Disgraceful  scene  at  Cambray — Character  of  the 
Archbishop — Egmont  in  Spain — Flattery  and  bribery — Council  of  Doctors — 
Vehement  declarations  of  Philip — His  instructions  to  Egmont  at  his  depart- 
ure— Proceedings  of  Orange  in  regard  to  his  principality — Egmont's  report 
to  the  state  council  concerning  his  mission — His  vainglory — Renewed  orders 
from  Philip  to  continue  the  persecution — Indignation  of  Egmont — Habitual 
dissimulation  of  the  King — Reproof  of  Egmont  by  Orange — Assembly  of 
doctors  in  Brussels — Result  of  their  deliberations  transmitted  to  Philip — Uni- 
versal excitement  in  the  Netherlands — New  punishment  for  heretics — Inter- 
view at  Bayonne  between  Catharine  de  Medici  and  her  daughter,  the  Queen 
of  Spain — Mistaken  views  upon  this  subject — Diplomacy  of  Alva — Artful 
conduct  of  Catharine — Stringent  letters  from  Philip  to  the  Duchess  with  re- 
gard to  the  inquisition — Consternation  of  Margaret  and  of  Viglius — New 
proclamation  of  the  Edicts,  the  Inquisition,  and  the  Council  of  Trent — Fury 
of  the  people — Resistance  of  the  leading  seigniors  and  of  the  Brabant  Coun- 
cil— Brabant  declared  free  of  the  inquisition — Prince  Alexander  of  Parmc 
betrothed  to  Donna  Maria  of  Portugal — Her  portrait — Expensive  prepara- 
tions for  the  nuptials — Assembly  of  the  Golden  Fleece — Oration  of  Viglius— 
"Wedding  of  Prince  Alexander. 

The  remainder  of  the  year,  in  the  spring  of  which  the  Car- 
dinal had  left  the  Netherlands,  was  one  of  anarchy,  confusion, 
and  corruption.     At  first  there  had  been  a  sensation  of  relief. 


440  THE    KISE    OF   THE    DUTCH    KEPUBLIC.  [1564, 

Philip  had  exchanged  letters  of  exceeding  amity  with  Orange, 
Egmont,  and  Horn.  These  three  seigniors  had  written,  im- 
mediately upon  G-ranvelle's  retreat,  to  assure  the  King  of 
their  willingness  to  obey  the  royal  commands,  and  to  resume 
their  duties  at  the  state  council.0  They  had,  however,  as- 
sured the  Duchess  that  the  reappearance  of  the  Cardinal  in 
the  country  would  be  the  signal  for  their  instantaneous  with- 
drawal^ They  appeared  at  the  council  daily,  working  with 
the  utmost  assiduity  often  till  late  into  the  night.  Orange  had 
three  great  objects  in  view,^  by  attaining  which  the  country, 
in  his  opinion,  might  yet  be  saved,  and  the  threatened  convul- 
sions averted.  These  were  to  convoke  the  states-general, 
to  moderate  or  abolish  the  edicts,  and  to  suppress  the  council 
of  finance  and  the  privy  council,  leaving  only  the  council  of 
state.  The  two  first  of  these  points,  if  gained,  would,  of 
course,  subvert  the  whole  absolute  policy  which  Philip  and 
Granvelle  had  enforced ;  it  was,  therefore,  hardly  probable 
that  any  impression  would  be  made  upon  the  secret  deter- 
mination of  the  government  in  these  respects.  As  to  the 
council  of  state,  the  limited  powers  of  that  body,  under  the 
administration  of  the  Cardinal,  had  formed  one  of  the  princi- 
pal complaints  against  that  minister.  The  justice  and  finance 
councils  were  sinks  of  iniquity.  The  most  barefaced  depravity 
reigned  supreme.  A  gangrene  had  spread  through  the  whole 
government.  The  public  functionaries  were  notoriously  and 
outrageously  venal.  The  administration  of  justice  had  been 
poisoned  at  the  fountain,  and  the  people  were  unable  to  slake 
their  daily  thirst  at  the  polluted  stream.  There  was  no  law 
but  the  law  of  the  longest  purse.  The  highest  dignitaries  of 
Philip's  appointment  had  become  the  most  mercenary  hucksters 
who  ever  converted  the  divine  temple  of  justice  into  a  den  of 
thieves.  Law  was  an  article  of  merchandise,  sold  by  judges 
to  the  highest  bidder.     A  poor  customer  could  obtain  nothing 


*  Correspondance  de  Guillaumo  le  Tacit,  ii.  71,  72 
f  Correspondance  do  Philippe  II.,  i.  294-297. 
X  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  222,  223. 


1564.J  CORRUPTION.  441 

but  stripes  and  imprisonment,  or,  if  tainted  with  suspicion  of 
heresy,  the  fagot  or  the  sword,  but  for  the  rich  every  thing 
was  attainable.  Pardons  for  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  pass- 
ports, safe  conducts,  offices  of  trust  and  honor,  were  disposed 
of  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder.*  Against  all  this  sea  of 
corruption  did  the  brave  William  of  Orange  set  his  breast,  un- 
daunted and  unflinching.  Of  all  the  conspicuous  men  in  the 
land,  he  was  the  only  one  whose  worst  enemy  had  never  hinted 
through  the  whole  course  of  his  public  career,  that  his  hands 
had  known  contamination.  His  honor  was  ever  untarnished 
by  even  a  breath  of  suspicion.  The  Cardinal  could  accuse  him 
of  pecuniary  embarrassment,  by  which  a  large  proportion  of 
his  revenues  were  necessarily  diverted  to  the  liquidation  of  his 
debts,  but  ho  could  not  suggest  that  the  Prince  had  ever  freed 
himself  from  difficulties  by  plunging  his  hands  into  the  public 
treasury,  when  it  might  easily  have  been  opened  to  him. 

It  was  soon,  however,  sufficiently  obvious  that  as  desperate 
a  struggle  was  to  be  made  with  the  many-headed  monster  of 
general  corruption  as  with  the  Cardinal  by  whom  it  had  been 
so  long  fed  and  governed.  The  Prince  was  accused  of  ambition 
and  intrigue.  It  was  said  that  he  was  determined  to  con- 
centrate all  the  powers  of  government  in  the  state  council, 
which  was  thus  to  become  an  omnipotent  and  irresponsible 
senate,  while  the  King  would  be  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a 
Venetian  Doge.f  It  was,  of  course,  suggested  that  it  was  the 
aim  of  Orange  to  govern  the  new  Tribunal  of  Ten.  No 
doubt  the  Prince  was  ambitious.  Birth,  wealth,  genius,  and 
virtue  could  not  have  been  bestowed  in  such  eminent  degree 
on  any  man  without  carrying  with  them  the  determination  to 
assert  their  value.  It  was  not  his  wish  so  much  as  it  was  the 
necessary  law  of  his  being  to  impress  himself  upon  his  age  and 
to  rule  his  fellow-men.  But  he  practised  no  arts  to  arrive  at 
the  supremacy  which  he  felt  must  always  belong  to  him,  what- 


*  Hoofd,  ii.  48,  49.     Hopper,  Rec.  ot  Mem.,  40.     Vit.  Viglii,  38,  39. 

f  "  Comme  par  un  coup  d'essay  pensa  d'abolir  le  conseil  prive pour  abolir 

la  puissance  du  Roy  et  lo  rendre  semblablo  a  un  ducq  de  Venise,"  etc. — Pontua 
Payen  MS. 


442  THE   EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

ever  might  be  his  nominal  position  in  the  political  hierarchy. 
He  was  already,  although  but  just  turned  of  thirty  years, 
vastly  changed  from  the  brilliant  and  careless  grandee,  as  he 
stood  at  the  hour  of  the  imperial  abdication.  He  was  becom- 
ing careworn  in  face,  thin  of  figure,  sleepless  of  habit.  The 
wrongs  of  which  he  was  the  daily  witness,  the  absolutism,  the 
cruelty,  the  rottenness  of  the  government,  had  marked  his 
face  with  premature  furrows.  "  They  say  that  the  Prince  is 
very  sad,"  wrote  Morillon  to  Granvelle  ;  "and  'tis  easy  to  read 
as  much  in  his  face.  They  say  he  can  not  sleep."*  Truly 
might  the  monarch  have  taken  warning  that  here  was  a  man 
who  was  dangerous,  and  who  thought  too  much.  "  Sleek- 
headed  men,  and  such  as  slept  o'  nights,"  would  have  been 
more  eligible  functionaries,  no  doubt,  in  the  royal  estimation, 
but,  for  a  brief  period,  the  King  was  content  to  use,  to  watch, 
and  to  suspect  the  man  who  was  one  day  to  be  his  great  and 
invincible  antagonist.  He  continued  assiduous  at  the  council, 
and  he  did  his  best,  by  entertaining  nobles  and  citizens  at  his 
hospitable  mansion,  to  cultivate  good  relations  with  large 
numbers  of  his  countrymen.  He  soon,  however,  had  become 
disgusted  with  the  court.  Egmont  was  more  lenient  to  the 
foul  practices  which  prevailed  there,  and  took  almost  a  child- 
ish pleasure  in  dining  at  the  table  of  the  Duchess,  dressed,  as 
were  many  of  the  younger  nobles,  in  short  camlet  doublet 
with  the  wheat-sheaf  buttons. 

The  Prince  felt  more  unwilling  to  compromise  his  personal 
dignity  by  countenancing  the  flagitious  proceedings  and  the 
contemptible  supremacy  of  Armenteros,  and  it  was  soon  very 
obvious,  therefore,  that  Egmont  was  a  greater  favorite  at  court 
than  Orange.  At  the  same  time  the  Count  was  also  dili- 
gently cultivating  the  good  graces  of  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  in  Brussels,  shooting  with  the  burghers  at  the  popinjay, 
calling  every  man  by  his  name,  and  assisting  at  jovial  banquets 
in  town-house  or  guild-hall.  The  Prince,  although  at  times 
a  necessary  partaker  also  in  these  popular  amusements,  could 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  434, 


1564.]  THE   MAN   OF   SILVER,  448 

find  small  cause  for  rejoicing  in  the  aspect  of  affairs.  When 
his  business  led  him  to  the  palace,  he  was  sometimes  forced  to 
wait  in  the  ante-chamber  for  an  hour,  while  Secretary  Armen- 
teros  was  engaged  in  private  consultation  with  Margaret  upon 
the  most  important  matters  of  administration.*  It  could  not 
be  otherwise  than  galling  to  the  pride  and  offensive  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  Prince,  to  find  great  public  transactions 
entrusted  to  such  hands.  Thomas  de  Armenteros  was  a  mere 
private  secretary — a  simple  clerk.  He  had  no  right  to  have 
cognizance  of  important  affairs,  which  could  only  come  before 
his  Majesty's  sworn  advisers.  He  was  moreover  an  infamous 
peculator.  He  was  rolling  up  a  fortune  with  great  rapidity 
by  his  shameless  traffic  in  benefices,  charges,  offices,  whether  of 
church  or  state.  His  name  of  Armenteros  was  popularly 
converted  into  Argenteros,f  in  order  to  symbolize  the  man  who 
was  made  of  public  money.  His  confidential  intimacy  with 
the  Duchess  procured  for  him  also  the  name  of  "  Madam's 
barber,"J  in  allusion  to  the  famous  ornaments  of  Margaret's 
upper  lip,  and  to  the  celebrated  influence  enjoyed  by  the 
barbers  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  of  Louis  the  Eleventh. 
This  man  sold  dignities  and  places  of  high  responsibility  at 
public  auction.§  The  Eegent  not  only  connived  at  these 
proceedings,  which  would  have  been  base  enough,  but  she 
was  full  partner  in  the  disgraceful  commerce.  Through 
the  agency  of  the  Secretary,  she,  too,  was  amassing  a 
large  private  fortune.||  "  The  Duchess  has  gone  into  the 
business   of    vending    places   to   the    highest   bidders,"   said 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  593.  f  Ibid.,  viii.  650,  ix.  339. 

%  Ibid.,  viiL  650. 

§  Ibid.,  vii.  635-6T 8.  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  405, 
406. 

\  "  Mesmes  aucuns,  pour  la  rendre  odieuso  au  peuple  semoyent  un  bruit  qu'ello 
amassoit  un  grand  thresor  de  derniers  du  Roy,  oultre  une  infinite  d'or  et 
d'argent  qu'elle  tiroit  subtilement  des  offices,  benefices,  et  remissions  qu'elle 
faisoit  vendre  soubs  main  en  beaux  deniers  comptant  par  le  dit  Armenteros." — 
Pontus  Payen  MS, 

The  correspondence  of  the  time  proves  that  the  story  was  no  calumny,  but  an 
indisputable  face. 


444  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

Morillon,  "  with  the  bit  between  her  teeth."*  The  spec- 
tacle p resented  at  the  council-board  was  often  sufficiently 
repulsive  not  only  to  the  cardinalists,  who  were  treated  with 
elaborate  insolence,  but  to  all  men  who  loved  honor  and 
justice,  or  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  govern- 
ment. There  was  nothing  majestic  in  the  appearance  of  the 
Duchess,  as  she  sat  conversing  apart  with  Armenteros,  whis- 
pering, pinching,  giggling,  or  disputing,  while  important 
affairs  of  state  were  debated,  concerning  which  the  Secretary 
had  no  right  to  be  informed.-]-  It  was  inevitable  that  Orange 
should  be  offended  to  the  utmost  by  such  proceedings, 
although  he  was  himself  treated  with  comparative  respect. 
As  for  the  ancient  adherents  of  Grranvelle,  the  Bordeys,  Baves, 
and  Morillons,  they  were  forbidden  by  the  favorite  even  to 
salute  him  in  the  streets.  Berlaymont  was  treated  by  the 
Duchess  with  studied  insult.  "  What  is  the  man  talking 
about  ?"  she  would  ask  with  languid  superciliousness,  if  he 
attempted  to  express  his  opinion  in  the  state-council4 
Viglius,  whom  Berlaymont  accused  of  doing  his  best,  without 
success,  to  make  his  peace  with  the  seigniors,  was  in  even 
still  greater  disgrace  than  his  fellow-cardinalists.  He  longed, 
he  said,  to  be  in  Burgundy,  drinking  Granvelle's  good  wine.§ 
His  patience  under  the  daily  insults  which  he  received  from 
the  government  made  him  despicable  in  the  eyes  of  his 
own  party.  He  was  described  by  his  friends  as  pusillanimous 
to  an  incredible  extent,  timid  from  excess  of  riches,  afraid  of 
his  own  shadow. 1 1  He  was  becoming  exceedingly  pathetic, 
expressing  frequently  a  desire  to  depart  and  end  his  days  in 
peace.  His  faithful  Hopper  sustained  and  consoled  him,  but 
even  Joachim  could  not  soothe  his  sorrows  when  he  reflected 


*  "Son  Alteze  y  vat  bride  avallee." — Papiers  d'Etat,  vii.  635. 

f  L'aultre  jour,  Van  der  Aa  me  diet  avec  larmes  qu'il  ne  scavoit  plus  comporter 
les  termes  que  Ton  y  tint :  parlant  a  l'oreule,  riant,  picquant,  debatant  et  dormant 
60uvent  des  lourdes  attaches,  et  quand  Hostilio  y  est  aussi  present  pour  escoulter.' 
—Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  57,  58.  \  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  238. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc..  i.  223. 

H  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  267,  311 


1564.]  "poor  viglitjs."  445 

tliat  after  all  the  work  performed  by  himself  and  colleagues, 
"  they  had  only  been  beating  the  bush  for  others,"*  while  their 
own  share  in  the  spoils  had  been  withheld.  Nothing  could 
well  be  more  contumelious  than  Margaret's  treatment  of  the 
learned  Frisian.  When  other  councillors  were  summoned 
to  a  session  at  three  o'clock,  the  President  was  invited  at 
four.  It  was  quite  impossible  for  him  to  have  an  audience 
of  the  Duchess  except  in  the  presence  of  the  inevitable 
Armenteros.  He  was  not  allowed  to  open  his  mouth,  even 
when  he  occasionally  plucked  up  heart  enough  to  attempt 
the  utterance  of  his  opinions.  His  authority  was  com- 
pletely dead.  Even  if  he  essayed  to  combat  the  convocation 
of  the  states-general  by  the  arguments  which  the  Duchess, 
at  his  suggestion,  had  often  used  for  the  purpose,  he  was 
treated  with  the  same  indifference.  "  The  poor  President," 
wrote  Granvelle  to  the  King's  chief  secretary,  Gonzalo  Perez, 
"  is  afraid,  as  I  hear,  to  speak  a  word,  and  is  made  to  write  ex- 
actly what  they  tell  him."  At  the  same  time  the  poor  Presi- 
dent, thus  maltreated  and  mortified,  had  the  vanity  occasion- 
ally to  imagine  himself  a  bold  and  formidable  personage.  The 
man  whom  his  most  intimate  friends  described  as  afraid  of  his 
own  shadow,  described  himself  to  Granvelle  as  one  who  went 
his  own  gait,  speaking  his  mind  frankly  upon  every  opportu- 
nity, and  compelling  people  to  fear  him  a  little,  even  if  they 
did  not  love  him.  But  the  Cardinal  knew  better  than  to  be- 
lieve in  this  magnanimous  picture  of  the  doctor's  fancy,  f 

Viglius  was  anxious  to  retire,  but  unwilling  to  have  the 
appearance  of  being  disgraced.  He  felt  instinctively,  although 
deceived  as  to  the  actual  facts,  that  his  great  patron  had  been 
defeated  and  banished.  He  did  not  wish  to  be  placed  in 
the  same  position.  He  was  desirous,  as  he  piously  expressed 
himself,  of  withdrawing  from  the  world,  "  that  he  might 
balance  his    accounts  with    the    Lord,   before    leaving    the 


*  "  Qu'on  aurat  battu  le  buisson  pour  la   noblesse." — Papiers   d'Etat,   viii 
57,  58 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  77-91,  190,  266,  372,  377,  409,  410,  425,  426,  619. 


446  THE   RISE' OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

lodgings  of  life."  He  was,  however,  disposed  to  please 
"  the  master"  as  well  as  the  Lord.  He  wished  to  have  the 
royal  permission  to  depart  in  peace.  In  his  own  lofty  lan- 
guage, he  wished  to  be  sprinkled  on  taking  his  leave  "  with 
the  holy  water  of  the  court."  Moreover,  he  was  fond  of  his 
salary,  although  he  disliked  the  sarcasms  of  the  Duchess. 
Egmont  and  others  had  advised  him  to  abandon  the  office  of 
President  to  Hopper,  in  order,  as  he  was  getting  feeble,  to 
reserve  his  whole  strength  for  the  state-council.  Viglius  did 
not  at  all  relish  the  proposition.  He  said  that  by  giving  up 
the  seals,  and  with  them  the  rank  and  salary  which  they  con- 
ferred, he  should  become  a  deposed  saint.  He  had  no  in- 
clination, as  long  as  he  remained  on  the  ground  at  all,  to  part 
with  those  emoluments  and  honors,  and  to  be  converted  merely 
into  the  "  ass  of  the  state-council."*  He  had,  however,  with 
the  sagacity  of  an  old  navigator,  already  thrown  out  his  anchor 
into  the  best  holding-ground  during  the  storms  which 
he  foresaw  were  soon  to  sweep  the  state.  Before  the  close  of 
the  year  which  now  occupies  us,  the  learned  doctor  of  laws 
had  become  a  doctor  of  divinity  also  ;  and  had  already  secured, 
by  so  doing,  the  wealthy  prebend  of  Saint  Bavon  of  Ghent.f 
This  would  be  a  consolation  in  the  loss  of  secular  dignities, 
and  a  recompence  for  the  cold  looks  of  the  Duchess.  He  did 
not  scruple  to  ascribe  the  pointed  dislike  which  Margaret 
manifested  towards  him  to  the  awe  in  which  she  stood  of  his 
stern  integrity  of  character.  The  true  reason  why  Armenteros 
and  the  Duchess  disliked  him  was  because,  in  his  own  words, 
"  he  was  not  of  their  mind  with  regard  to  lotteries,  the  sale 
of  offices,  advancement  to  abbeys,  and  many  other  things  of 
the  kind,  by  which  they  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  make  their 
fortune."  Upon  another  occasion  he  observed,  in  a  letter  to 
Grranvelle,  that  "  all  offices  were  sold  to  the  highest  bidder, 
and  that  the  cause  of  Margaret's  resentment  against  both  the 
Cardinal  and  himself  was,  that  they  had  so  long  prevented  her 


*  "Et  de  me  laisser  contenter  d'estre  l'asne  du  conseil-d'etat." — Ibid.,  192= 
t  Correspon dance  de  Philippe  II.,  ii-  318-320, 


1564.]  MARGARET   AGAINST   THE    CARDIXALISTS.  447 

from  making  the  profit  which  she  was  now  doing  from  the  sale 
of  benefices,  offices,  and  other  favors."* 

The  Duchess,  on  her  part,  characterized  the  proceedings 
and  policy,  both  past  and  present,  of  the  cardinalists  as 
factious,  corrupt,  and  selfish  in  the  last  degree.  She  assured 
her  brother  that  the  simony,  rapine,  and  dishonesty  of  Gran- 
velle,  Viglius,  and  all  their  followers,  had  brought  affairs  into 
the  ruinous  condition  which  was  then  but  too  apparent.  They 
were  doing  their  best,  she  said,  since  the  Cardinal's  departure., 
to  show,  by  their  sloth  and  opposition,  that  they  were  deter- 
mined to  allow  nothing  to  prosper  in  his  absence.  To  quote 
her  own  vigorous  expression  to  Philip — "  Viglius  made  her 
suffer  the  pains  of  hell."f  She  described  him  as  perpetually 
resisting  the  course  of  the  administration,  and  she  threw  out 
dark  suspicions,  not  only  as  to  his  honesty  but  his  orthodoxy. 
Philip  lent  a  greedy  ear  to  these  scandalous  hints  concerning 
the  late  omnipotent  minister  and  his  friends.  It  is  an  in- 
structive lesson  in  human  history  to  look  through  the  cloud  of 
dissimulation  in  which  the  actors  of  this  remarkable  epoch 
were  ever  enveloped,  and  to  watch  them  all  stabbing  fiercely 
at  each  other  in  the  dark,  with  no  regard  to  previous  friend- 
ship, or  even  present  professions.  It  is  edifying  to  see  the 
Cardinal,  with  all  his  genius  and  all  his  grimace,  corresponding 
on  familiar  terms  with  Armcnteros,  who  was  holding  him  up 
to  obloquy  upon  all  occasions  ;  to  see  Philip  inclining  his  ear 
in  pleased  astonishment  to  Margaret's  disclosures  concerning 
the  Cardinal,  whom  he  was  at  the  very  instant  assuring  of  his 
undiminished  confidence ;J  and  to  see  Viglius,  the  author  of 
the  edict  of  1550,  and  the  uniform  opponent  of  any  mitigation 
in  its  horrors,  silently  becoming  involved  without  the  least 
suspicion  of  the  fact  in  the  meshes  of  inquisitor  Titelmann. 
Upon  Philip's  eager  solicitations  for  further  disclosures, 
Margaret  accordingly  informed  her  brother  of  additional  facts 


c  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  265 ;  405,  406. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  314. 

%  Papiers  d'Etat,  viL  593 ;  viii.  91-94.     Corresp.  do  Philippe  II.,  i.  309-317 


448  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

communicated  to  her,  after  oaths  of  secrecy  had  been  ex- 
changed, by  Titelmann  and  his  colleague  del  Canto.  They 
had  assured  her,  she  said,  that  there  were  grave  doubts 
touching  the  orthodoxy  of  Viglius.  He  had  consorted  with 
heretics  during  a  large  portion  of  Ins  life,  and  had  put  many 
suspicious  persons  into  office.  As  to  his  nepotism,  simony, 
and  fraud,  there  was  no  doubt  at  all.  He  had  richly  provided 
all  his  friends  and  relations  in  Friesland  with  benefices.  He 
had  become  in  his  old  age  a  priest  and  churchman,  in  order  to 
snatch  the  provostship  of  Saint  Bavon,  although  his  infirmities 
did  not  allow  him  to  say  mass,  or  even  to  stand  erect  at  the 
altar.  The  inquisitors  had  further  accused  him  of  having 
stolen  rings,  jewels,  plate,  linen,  beds,  tapestry,  and  other 
furniture,  from  the  establishment,  all  which  property  he  had 
sent  to  Friesland,  and  of  having  seized  one  hundred  thousand 
florins  in  ready  money  which  had  belonged  to  the  last  abbe — 
an  act  consequently  of  pure  embezzlement.  The  Duchess 
afterwards  transmitted  to  Philip  an  inventory  of  the  plundered 
property,  including  the  furniture  of  nine  houses,  and  begged 
him  to  command  Viglius  to  make  instant  restitution.*  If 
there  be  truth  in  the  homely  proverb,  that  in  case  of  certain 
quarrels  honest  men  recover  their  rights,  it  is  perhaps  equally 
certain  that  when  distinguished  public  personages  attack  each 
other,  historians  may  arrive  at  the  truth.  Here  certainly  are 
edifying  pictures  of  the  corruption  of  the  Spanish  regency  in 
the  Netherlands,  painted  by  the  President  of  the  state-council, 
and  of  the  dishonesty  of  the  President  painted  by  the 
Regent. 

A  remarkable  tumult  occurred  in  October  of  this  year,  at 
Antwerp.  A  Carmelite  monk,  Christopher  Smith,  commonly 
called  Fabricius,  had  left  a  monastery  in  Bruges,  adopted 
the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  and  taken  to  himself 
a  wife.  He  had  resided  for  a  time  in  England  ;  but,  invited 
by  his  friends,  he  had  afterwards  undertaken  the  dangerous 
charge  of  gospel-teacher  in  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the 

*  Papiers  d'Etat,  i.  314-320 ;  350,  351. 


1564.]  EXECUTION   OF   FABRICIUS.  449 

Netherlands.  He  was,  however,  soon  betrayed  to  the  authori- 
ties by  a  certain  bonnet  dealer,  popularly  called  Long 
Margaret,  who  had  pretended,  for  the  sake  of  securing  the 
informer's  fee,  to  be  a  convert  to  his  doctrines.  He  was 
seized,  and  immediately  put  to  the  torture.  He  manfully 
refused  to  betray  any  members  of  his  congregation,  as  man- 
fully avowed  and  maintained  his  religious  creed.  He  was 
condemned  to  the  flames,  and  during  the  interval  which  pre- 
ceded his  execution,  he  comforted  his  friends  by  letters  of 
advice,  religious  consolation  and  encouragement,  which  he 
wrote  from  his  dungeon.  He  sent  a  message  to  the  woman 
who  had  betrayed  him,  assuring  her  of  his  forgiveness,  and 
exhorting  her  to  repentance.  His  calmness,  wisdom,  and 
gentleness  excited  the  admiration  of  all.  When,  therefore, 
this  humble  imitator  of  Christ  was  led  through  the  streets  of 
Antwerp  to  the  stake,  the  popular  emotion  was  at  once 
visible.  To  the  multitude  who  thronged  about  the  exe- 
cutioners with  threatening  aspect,  he  addressed  an  urgent 
remonstrance  that  they  would  not  compromise  their  own 
safety  by  a  tumult  in  his  cause.  He  invited  all,  however,  to 
remain  steadfast  to  the  great  truth  for  which  he  was  about  to 
lay  down  his  life.  The  crowd,  as  they  followed  the  procession 
of  hangmen,  halberclsmen,  and  magistrates,  sang  the  hundred 
and  thirtieth  psalm  in  full  chorus.  As  the  victim  arrived 
upon  the  market-place,  he  knelt  upon  the  ground  to  pray,  for 
the  last  time.  He  was,  however,  rudely  forced  to  rise  by  the 
executioner,  who  immediately  chained  him  to  the  stake,  and 
fastened  a  leathern  strap  around  his  throat.  At  this  moment 
the  popular  indignation  became  uncontrollable ;  stones  were 
showered  upon  the  magistrates  and  soldiers,  who,  after  a 
slight  resistance,  fled  for  their  lives.  The  foremost  of  the  insur- 
gents dashed  into  the  enclosed  arena,  to  rescue  the  prisoner.  It 
was  too  late.  The  executioner,  even  as  he  fled,  had  crushed  the 
victim's  head  with  a  sledge  hammer,  and  pierced  him  through 
and  through  with  a  poniard.  Some  of  the  bystanders  main- 
tained afterwards  that  his  fingers  and  lips  were  seen  to 
move,  as  if  in  feeble  prayer,  for  a  little  time  longer,  until,  as 
VOL.  i.  29 


450  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564 

the  fire  mounted,  he  fell  into  the  flames.  For  the  remainder 
of  the  day,  after  the  fire  had  entirely  smouldered  to  ashes, 
the  charred  and  half-consumed  body  of  the  victim  remained 
on  the  market-place,  a  ghastly  spectacle  to  friend  and  foe. 
It  was  afterwards  bound  to  a  stone  and  cast  into  the  Scheld. 
Such  was  the  doom  of  Christopher  Fabricius,  for  having 
preached  Christianity  in  Antwerp.  During  the  night  an 
anonymous  placard,  written  with  blood,  was  posted  upon  the  « 
wall  of  the  town-house,  stating  that  there  were  men  in  the 
city  who  would  signally  avenge  his  murder.  Nothing  was 
done,  however,  towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  threat. 
The  King,  when  he  received  the  intelligence  of  the  trans- 
action, was  furious  with  indignation,  and  wrote  savage  letters 
to  his  sister,  commanding  instant  vengeance  to  be  taken 
upon  all  concerned  in  so  foul  a  riot.  As  one  of  the  persons 
engaged  had,  however,  been  arrested  and  immediately  hanged, 
and  as  the  rest  had  effected  their  escape,  the  affair  was  suffered 
to  drop.* 

The  scenes  of  outrage,  the  frantic  persecutions,  were  fast 
becoming  too  horrible  to  be  looked  upon  by  Catholic  or  Cal- 
vinist.  The  prisons  swarmed  with  victims,  the  streets  were 
thronged  with  processions  to  the  stake.  The  population  of 
thriving  cities,  particularly  in  Flanders,  were  maddened  by  the 
spectacle  of  so  much  barbarity  inflicted,  not  upon  criminals, 
but  usually  upon  men  remarkable  for  propriety  of  conduct 
and  blameless  lives.  It  was  precisely  at  this  epoch  that  the 
burgomasters,  senators,  and  council  of  the  city  of  Bruges  (all 
Catholics)  humbly  represented  to  the  Duchess  Kegent,  that 
Peter  Titelmann,  inquisitor  of  the  Faith,  against  all  forms  of 
2aw,  was  daily  exercising  inquisition  among  the  inhabitants, 
not  only  against  those  suspected  or  accused  of  heresy,  but 
against  all,  however  untainted  their  characters  ;  that  he  was 
daily  citing  before  him  whatever  persons  he  liked,  men  or 
women,  compelling  them  by  force  to  say  whatever  it  pleased 


-  Strada,  iv.  143, 144.      Hist,  des  Martyrs  apud  Brandt,  i.  262-264. — Compare 
Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  440-443. 


1564.]  REMONSTRANCES   AGAINST    TITELMANN.  451 

him ;  that  he  was  dragging  people  from  their  houses,  and 
even  from  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  church  ;  often  in  revenge 
for  verbal  injuries  to  himself,  always  under  pretext  of  heresy, 
and  without  form  or  legal  warrant  of  any  kind.  They  there- 
fore begged  that  he  might  be  compelled  to  make  use  of  pre- 
paratory examinations  with  the  co-operation  of  the  senators  of 
the  city,  to  suffer  that  witnesses  should  make  their  depositions 
without  being  intimidated  by  menace,  and  to  conduct  all  his 
subsequent  proceedings  according  to  legal  forms,  which  he  had 
uniformly  violated  ;  publicly  declaring  that  he  would  conduct 
himself  according  to  his  own  pleasure.* 

The  four  estates  of  Flanders  having,  in  a  solemn  address  to 
the  King,  represented  the  same  facts,  concluded  their  brief 
but  vigorous  description  of  Titelmann's  enormities  by  calling 
upon  Philip  to  suppress  these  horrible  practices,  so  manifestly 
in  violation  of  the  ancient  charters  which  he  had  sworn  to 
support.f  It  may  be  supposed  that  the  appeal  to  Philip  would 
be  more  likely  to  call  down  a  royal  benediction  than  the  reproof 
solicited  upon  the  inquisitor's  head.  In  the  privy  council,  the 
petitions  and  remonstrances  were  read,  and,  in  the  words  of 
the  President,  "  found  to  be  in  extremely  bad  taste." J  In  the 
debate  which  followed,  Viglius  and  his  friends  recalled  to  the 
Duchess,  in  earnest  language,  the  decided  will  of  the  King, 
which  had  been  so  often  expressed.  A  faint  representation 
was  made,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  dangerous  consequences, 
in  case  the  people  were  driven  to  a  still  deeper  despair.  The 
result  of  the  movement  was  but  meagre.  The  Duchess  an- 
nounced that  she  could  do  nothing  in  the  matter  of  the 
request  until  further  information,  but  that  meantime  she 
had  charged  Titelmann  to  conduct  himself  in  his  office  "with 
discretion  and  modesty."§  The  discretion  and  modesty,  how- 
ever, never  appeared  in  any  modification  of  the  inquisitor's 


*  Brandt,  i.  278,  279.  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  434-438.  Correspondance  de 
Philippe  II.,  i.  329-331. 

f  Brandt,  ubi  sup.  \  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  434. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  439. — "De  se  conduyre  en  l'exerciee  de  son  office  avec 
toute  discretion,  modestie  et  respect." 


452  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1564, 

proceedings,  and  he  continued  unchecked  in  his  infamous 
career  until  death,  which  did  not  occur  till  several  years 
afterwards.  In  truth,  Margaret  was  herself  in  mortal  fear  of 
this  horrible  personage.  He  besieged  her  chamber  door  almost 
daily,  before  she  had  risen,  insisting  upon  audiences  which, 
notwithstanding  her  repugnance  to  the  man,  she  did  not  dare 
to  refuse.  "  May  I  perish,"  said  Morillon,  "if  she  does  not 
stand  in  exceeding  awe  of  Titelmann.*  Under  such  circum- 
stances, sustained  by  the  King  in  Spain,  the  Duchess  in  Brus- 
sels, the  privy  council,  and  by  a  leading  member  of  what  had 
been  thought  the  liberal  party,  it  was  not  difficult  for  the 
inquisition  to  maintain  its  ground,  notwithstanding  the  solemn 
protestations  of  the  estates  and  the  suppressed  curses  of  the 
people. 

Philip,  so  far  from  having  the  least  disposition  to  yield  in 
the  matter  of  the  great  religious  persecution,  was  more  deter- 
mined as  to  his  course  than  ever.  He  had  already,  as  early 
as  August  of  this  year,  despatched  orders  to  the  Duchess 
that  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent  should  be  published 
and  enforced  throughout  the  Netherlands.f  The  memorable 
quarrel  as  to  precedency  between  the  French  and  Spanish 
delegates  had  given  some  hopes  of  a  different  determination. 
Nevertheless,  those  persons  who  imagined  that,  in  consequence 
of  this  quarrel  of  etiquette,  Philip  would  slacken  in  his  alle- 
giance to  the  Church,  were  destined  to  be  bitterly  mistaken. 
He  informed  his  sister  that,  in  the  common  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  should  not  be  swayed  by  personal  resentments.^ 
How,  indeed,  could  a  different  decision  be  expected  ?  His  envoy 
at  Rome,  as  well  as  his  representatives  at  the  council,  had  uni- 
versally repudiated  all  doubts  as  to  the  sanctity  of  its  decrees. 
"  To  doubt  the  infallibility  of  the  council,  as  some  have  dared 
to  do,"  said  Francis  de  Vargas,  "  and  to  think  it  capable  of 


*  "Dispeream,"  writes  Morillon  to  Granvelle,  "si  ipsa  non  timeat  Titelman- 
num  et  del  Campo  qui  indies  etiam  ilia  invita,  ante  fores  cubiculi  ejus  versantur," 
etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  425,  426. 

f  Strada,  iv.  147.     Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.,  51,  sqq.  \  Strada,  ubi  sup. 


1564.]  COUNCIL  OF  TRENT,  453 

error,  is  the  most  devilish  heresy  of  all.  Nothing  could  so 
much  disturb  and  scandalize  the  world  as  such  a  sentiment. 
Therefore  the  Archbishop  of  Granada  told,  very  properly,  the 
Bishop  of  Tortosa,  that  if  he  should  express  such  an  opinion 
in  Spain,  they  would  burn  hirn."*  These  strenuous  notions 
were  shared  by  the  King.  Therefore,  although  all  Europe  was 
on  tip-toe  with  expectation  to  see  how  Philip  would  avenge 
himself  for  the  slight  put  upon  his  ambassador,  Philip  disap- 
pointed all  Europe. 

In  August,  1564,  he  wrote  to  the  Duchess  Kegent  that  the 
decrees  were  to  be  proclaimed  and  enforced  without  delay. 
They  related  to  three  subjects,  the  doctrines  to  be  inculcated 
by  the  Church,  the  reformation  of  ecclesiastical  morals,  and  the 
education  of  the  people.  General  police  regulations  were 
issued  at  the  same  time,  by  which  heretics  were  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  all  share  in  the  usual  conveniences  of  society,  and 
were  in  fact  to  be  strictly  excommunicated.  Inns  were  to 
receive  no  guests,  schools  no  children,  alms-houses  no  paupers, 
grave-yards  no  dead  bodies,  unless  guests,  children,  paupers, 
and  dead  bodies  were  furnished  with  the  most  satisfactory 
proofs  of  orthodoxy.  Midwives  of  unsuspected  Romanism 
were  alone  to  exercise  their  functions,  and  were  bound  to  give 
notice  within  twenty-four  hours  of  every  birth  which  occurred  ; 
the  parish  clerks  were  as  regularly  to  record  every  such  addi- 
tion to  the  population,  and  the  authorities  to  see  that  Catholic 
baptism  was  administered  in  each  case  with  the  least  possible 
delay.  Births,  deaths,  and  marriages  could  only  occur  with 
validity  under  the  shadow  of  the  Church.  No  human  being- 
could  consider  himself  born  or  defunct  unless  provided  with  a 
priest's  certificate.  The  heretic  was  excluded,  so  far  as  eccle- 
siastical dogma  could  exclude  him,  from  the  pale  of  humanity, 
from  consecrated  earth,  and  from  eternal  salvation. 

The  decrees  contained  many  provisions  which  not  only 
confhcted  with  the  privileges  of  the  provinces,  but  with  the 
prerogatives  of  the  sovereign.     For  this  reason  many  of  the 


Tapiers  d'Etat,  vi.  51C 


454  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1564. 

lords  in  council  thought  that  at  least  the  proper  exceptions 
should  be  made  upon  their  promulgation.  This  was  also  the 
opinion  of  the  Duchess,  but  the  King,  by  his  letters  of  October, 
and  November  (1564),  expressly  prohibited  any  alteration  in 
the  ordinances,  and  transmitted  a  copy  of  the  form  according 
to  which  the  canons  had  been  published  in  Spain,  together 
with  the  expression  of  his  desire  that  a  similar  course  should 
be  followed  in  the  Netherlands.*  Margaret  of  Parma  was  in 
great  embarrassment.  It  was  evident  that  the  publication 
could  no  longer  be  deferred.  Philip  had  issued  his  commands, 
but  grave  senators  and  learned  doctors  of  the  university  had 
advised  strongly  in  favor  of  the  necessary  exceptions.  The 
extreme  party,  headed  by  Viglius,  were  in  favor  of  carrying  out 
the  royal  decisions.  They  were  overruled,  and  the  Duchess  was 
induced  to  attempt  a  modification,  if  her  brother's  permission 
could  be  obtained.  The  President  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  decrees,  even  with  the  restrictions  proposed,  would  "give 
no  contentment  to  the  people,  who,  moreover,  had  no  right  to 
meddle  with  theology /'f  The  excellent  Viglius  forgot,  how- 
ever, that  theology  had  been  meddling  altogether  too  much 
with  the  people  to  make  it  possible  that  the  public  attention 
should  be  entirely  averted  from  the  subject.  Men  and  women 
who  might  be  daily  summoned  to  rack,  stake,  and  scaffold,  in 
the  course  of  these  ecclesiastical  arrangements,  and  whose 
births,  deaths,  marriages,  and  position  in  the  next  world,  were 
now  to  be  formally  decided  upon,  could  hardly  be  taxed  with 
extreme  indiscretion,  if  they  did  meddle  with  the  subject. 

In  the  dilemma  to  which  the  Duchess  was  reduced,  she 
again  bethought  herself  of  a  special  mission  to  Spain.  At 
the  end  of  the  year  (1564),  it  was  determined  that  Egmont 
should  be  the  envoy.  Montigny  excused  himself  on  account  of 
private  affairs  ;  Marquis  Berghen  "  because  of  his  indisposition 
and  corpulence."  J  There  was  a  stormy  debate  in  council  after 
Egmont  had  accepted  the  mission  and  immediately  before  his 


*  Strada,  iv.  148.  f  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  32L 

J  Papiers  d'Etat,  viii.  615. 


1564.]  SPEECH   OF   ORANGE.  455 

departure.  Viglius  had  been  ordered  to  prepare  the  Count's 
instructions.  Having  finished  the  rough  draught,  he  laid  it 
before  the  board.*  The  paper  was  conceived  in  general  terms, 
and  might  mean  any  thing  or  nothing.  No  criticism  upon  its 
language  was,  however,  offered  until  it  came  to  the  turn  of 
Orange  to  vote  upon  the  document.  Then,  however,  William 
the  Silent  opened  his  lips,  and  poured  forth  a  long  and  ve- 
hement discourse,  such  as  he  rarely  pronounced,  but  such  as 
few  except  himself  could  utter.  There  was  no  shuffling,  no 
disguise,  no  timidity  in  his  language.  He  took  the  ground 
boldly  that  the  time  had  arrived  for  speaking  out.  The  object 
of  sending  an  envoy  of  high  rank  and  European  reputation 
like  the  Count  of  Egmont,  was  to  tell  the  King  the  truth. 
Let  Philip  know  it  now.  Let  him  be  unequivocally  informed 
that  this  whole  machinery  of  placards  and  scaffolds,  of  new 
bishops  and  old  hangmen,  of  decrees,  inquisitors,  and  inform- 
ers, must  once  and  forever  be  abolished.  Their  day  was  over. 
The  Netherlands  were  free  provinces,  they  were  surrounded  by 
free  countries,  they  were  determined  to  vindicate  their  ancient 
privileges.  Moreover,  his  Majesty  was  to  be  plainly  informed 
of  the  frightful  corruption  which  made  the  whole  judicial  and 
administrative  system  loathsome.  The  venality  which  notor- 
iously existed  every  where,  on  the  bench,  in  the  council 
chamber,  in  all  public  offices,  where  purity  was  most  essential, 
was  denounced  by  the  Prince  in  scathing  terms.  He  tore 
the  mask  from  individual  faces,  and  openly  charged  the  Chan- 
cellor of  Brabant,  Engelbert  Maas,  with  knavery  and  cor- 
ruption. He  insisted  that  the  King  should  be  informed  of. 
the  necessity  of  abolishing  the  two  inferior  councils,  and  of 
enlarging  the  council  of  state  by  the  admission  of  ten  or 
twelve  new  members  selected  for  their  patriotism,  purity,  and 
capacity.  Above  all,  it  was  necessary  plainly  to  inform  his 
Majesty  that  the  canons  of  Trent,  spurned  by  the  whole 
world,  even  by  the  Catholic  princes  of  Germany,  could  never 
be  enforced  in  the  Netherlands,  and  that  it  would  be  ruinous 

*  Vit.  Viglii,  41. 


456  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC  [1564, 

to  make  the  attempt.  He  proposed  and  insisted  that  the 
Count  of  Egmont  should  be  instructed  accordingly.  He 
avowed  in  conclusion  that  he  was  a  Catholic  himself  and  in- 
tended to  remain  in  the  Faith,  but  that  he  could  not  look  on 
with  pleasure  when  princes  strove  to  govern  the  souls  of  men, 
and  to  take  away  their  liberty  in  matters  of  conscience  and 
religion  * 

Here  certainly  was  no  daintiness  of  phraseology,  and  upon 
these  leading  points,  thus  slightly  indicated,  William  of  Orange 
poured  out  his  eloquence,  bearing  conviction  upon  the  tide  of 
his  rapid  invective.  His  speech  lasted  till  seven  in  the  evening, 
when  the  Duchess  adjourned  the  meeting.  The  council  broke 
up,  the  Kegent  went  to  supper,  but  the  effect  of  the  discourse 
upon  nearly  all  the  members  was  not  to  be  mistaken.  Viglius 
was  in  a  state  of  consternation,  perplexity,  and  despair.  He 
felt  satisfied  that,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  Berlaymont, 
all  who  had  listened  or  should  afterwards  listen  to  the  power- 
ful arguments  of  Orange,  would  be  inevitably  seduced  or  be- 
wildered. The  President  lay  awake,  tossing  and  tumbling 
in  his  bed,  recalling  the  Prince's  oration,  point  by  point,  and 
endeavoring  to  answer  it  in  order.  It  was  important,  he  felt, 
to  obliterate  the  impression  produced.  Moreover,  as  we  have 
often  seen,  the  learned  Doctor  valued  himself  upon  his  logic. 
It  was  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  that  in  his  reply,  next 
day,  his  eloquence  should  outshine  that  of  his  antagonist. 
The  President  thus  passed  a  feverish  and  uncomfortable  night, 
pronouncing  and  listening  to  imaginary  harangues.  With  the 
dawn  of  day  he  arose  and  proceeded  to  dress  himself.  The 
excitement  of  the  previous  evening  and  the  subsequent  sleep- 
lessness of  his  night  had,  however,  been  too  much  for  his  feeble 
and  slightly  superannuated  frame.  Before  he  had  finished  his 
toilet,  a  stroke  of  apoplexy  stretched  him  senseless  upon  the 
floor.  His  servants,  when  they  soon  afterwards  entered  the 
apartment,  found  him  rigid,  and  to  all  appearance  dead.f  After 
a  few  days,  however,  he  recovered  his  physical  senses  in  part, 


*  Vit  Viglii,  41,  42  f  Ibid.,  41 


1564.]  egmont's  mission.  457 

but  his  reason  remained  for  a  longer  time  shattered,  and  was 
never  perhaps  fully  restored  to  its  original  vigor. 

This  event  made  it  necessary  that  his  place  in  the  council 
should  be  supplied.  Viglius  had  frequently  expressed  inten- 
tions of  retiring,  a  measure  to  which  he  could  yet  never  fully 
make  up  Ins  mind.  His  place  was  now  ternjDorarily  supplied 
by  his  friend  and  countryman,  Joachim  Hopper,  like  himself 
a  Frisian  doctor  of  ancient  blood  and  extensive  acquirements, 
well  versed  in  philosophy  and  jurisprudence,  a  professor  of 
Louvain  and  a  member  of  the  Mechlin  council.  He  was  like- 
wise the  original  founder  and  projector  of  Douay  University, 
an  institution  which  at  Philip's  desire  he  had  successfully  or- 
ganized in  1556,  in  order  that  a  French  university  might  be 
furnished  for  Walloon  youths,  as  a  substitute  for  the  seductive 
and  poisonous  Paris.  For  the  rest,  Hopper  was  a  mere  man 
of  routine.  He  was  often  employed  in  private  affairs  by 
Philip,  without  being  entrusted  with  the  secret  at  the  bottom 
of  them.  His  mind  was  a  confused  one,  and  his  style  inex- 
pressibly involved  and  tedious.  "  Poor  master  Hopper,"  said 
Granvelle,  "  did  not  write  the  best  French  in  the  world ; 
may  the  Lord  forgive  him.  He  was  learned  in  letters,  but 
knew  very  little  of  great  affairs."  His  manners  were  as  cring- 
ing as  his  intellect  was  narrow.  He  never  opposed  the 
Duchess,  so  that  his  colleagues  always  called  him  Councillor 
"  Yes,  Madam,"  and  he  did  his  best  to  be  friends  with  all  the 
world.* 

In  deference  to  the  arguments  of  Orange,  the  instructions 
for  Egmont  were  accordingly  considerably  modified  from  the 
original  draughts  of  Viglius.  As  drawn  up  by  the  new  Presi- 
dent, they  contained  at  least  a  few  hints  to  his  Majesty  as  to 
the  propriety  of  mitigating  the  edicts  and  extending  some 
mercy  to  his  suffering  people.f  The  document  was,  however, 
not  very  satisfactory  to  the  Prince,  nor  did  he  perhaps  rely 
very  implicitly  upon  the  character  of  the  envoy. 


*  Yit.  Viglii,  42.     Levensb.  Nederl.  Man.  en  Vrouwen,  iv.  105-111.     Groec 
x.  Prinst.,  Archives,  v.  373.     Dom  l'Evcsque,  i.  91.  f  Ibid 


458  THE    RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

Egmont  set  forth  upon  his  journey  early  in  January  (1565). 
He  travelled  in  great  state.  He  was  escorted  as  far  as  Cam- 
bray  by  several  nobles  of  his  acquaintance,  who  improved  the 
occasion  by  a  series  of  tremendous  banquets  during  the  Count's 
sojourn,  which  was  protracted  till  the  end  of  January.  The 
most  noted  of  these  gentlemen  were  Hoogstraaten,  Brederode, 
the  younger  Mansfeld,  Culemburg,  and  Noircarmes.  Before 
they  parted  with  the  envoy,  they  drew  up  a  paper  which 
they  signed  with  their  blood,  and  afterwards  placed  in  the 
hands  of  his  Countess.  In  this  document  they  promised,  on 
account  of  their  "  inexpressible  and  very  singular  affection"  for 
Egmont,  that  if,  during  his  mission  to  Spain,  any  evil  should 
befal  him,  they  would,  on  their  faith  as  gentlemen  and 
cavaliers  of  honor,  take  vengeance,  therefore,  upon  the  Car- 
dinal Granvelle,  or  upon  all  who  should  be  the  instigators 
thereof.* 

Wherever  Brederode  was,  there,  it  was  probable,  would  be 
much  severe  carousing.  Before  the  conclusion,  accordingly, 
of  the  visit  to  Cambray,  that  ancient  city  rang  with  the 
scandal  created  by  a  most  uproarious  scene.  A  banquet  was 
given  to  Egmont  and  his  friends  in  the  citadel.  Brederode, 
his  cousin  Lumey,  and  the  other  nobles  from  Brussels,  were 
all  present.  The  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  a  man  very  odious 
to  the  liberal  party  in  the  provinces,  was  also  bidden  to  the 
feast.  During  the  dinner,  this  prelate,  although  treated  with 
marked  respect  by  Egmont,  was  the  object  of  much  banter 
and  coarse  pleasantry  by  the  ruder  portion  of  the  guests. 
Especially  these  convivial  gentlemen  took  infinite  pains  to 


*  Groen  v.  P.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  345,  from  Arnoldi,  Hist.  Denkwiird,  p.  282. 
It  is  remarkable  that  after  the  return  of  the  Count  from  Spain,  Hoogstraaten 
received  this  singular  bond  from  the  Countess,  and  gave  it  to  Mansfeld,  to  be 
burned  in  his  presence.  Mansfeld,  however,  advised  keeping  it,  on  account  of 
Noircarmes,  whose  signature  was  attached  to  the  document,  and  whom  he  knew 
to  be  so  false  and  deceitful  a  man  that  it  might  be  well  to  have  it  within  their 
power  at  some  future  day  to  reproach  him  therewith. — Ibid.  It  will  be  seen  in 
the  sequel  that  Noircarmes  more  than  justified  the  opinion  of  Mansfeld,  but 
that  the  subsequent  career  of  Mansfeld  himself  did  not  entitle  him  to  reproach 
any  of  Philip's  noble  hangmen. 


1565.]  SCENE   AT   CAMBBAY.  459 

overload  him  with,  challenges  to  huge  bumpers  of  wine;  it 
being  thought  very  desirable,  if  possible,  to  place  the  Arch- 
bishop under  the  table.  This  pleasantry  was  alternated  with 
much  rude  sarcasm  concerning  the  new  bishoprics.  The  con- 
versation then  fell  upon  other  topics,  among  others,  natu- 
rally upon  the  mission  of  Count  Egmont.  Brederode  observed 
that  it  was  a  very  hazardous  matter  to  allow  so  eminent  a 
personage  to  leave  the  land  at  such  a  critical  period.  Should 
any  thing  happen  to  the  Count,  the  Netherlands  would  sustain 
an  immense  loss.  The  Archbishop,  irritated  by  the  previous 
conversation,  ironically  requested  the  speaker  to  be  comforted, 
"because,"  said  he,  "it  will  always  be  easy  to  find  a  new 
Egmont."  Upon  this,  Brederode,  beside  himself  with  rage, 
cried  out  vehemently,  "  Are  we  to  tolerate  such  language  from 
this  priest  ?"  Culemburg,  too,  turning  upon  the  offender, 
observed,  "  Your  observation  would  be  much  more  applicable 
to  your  own  case.  If  you  were  to  die,  't  would  be  easy  to  find 
five  hundred  of  your  merit,  to  replace  you  in  the  see  of  Cam- 
bray."  The  conversation  was,  to  say  the  least,  becoming 
personal.  The  Bishop,  desirous  of  terminating  this  keen 
encounter  of  wits,  lifted  a  goblet  full  of  wine  and  challenged 
Brederode  to  drink.  That  gentleman  declined  the  invitation. 
After  the  cloth  had  been  removed,  the  cup  circulated  more 
freely  than  ever.  The  revelry  became  fast  and  furious.  One 
of  the  younger  gentlemen  who  was  seated  near  the  Bishop 
snatched  the  bonnet  of  that  dignitary  from  his  head  and  placed 
it  upon  his  own.  He  then  drained  a  bumper  to  his  health, 
and  passed  the  goblet  and  the  cap  to  his  next  neighbor. 
Both  circulated  till  they  reached  the  Viscount  of  Ghent,  who 
arose  from  his  seat  and  respectfully  restored  the  cap  to  its 
owner.  Brederode  then  took  a  large  "  cup  of  silver  and 
gold,"  filled  it  to  the  brim,  and  drained  it  to  the  confusion  of 
Cardinal  Granvelle  ;  stigmatizing  that  departed  minister,  as 
he  finished,  by  an  epithet  of  more  vigor  than  decency.  He 
then  called  upon  all  the  company  to  pledge  him  to  the  same 
toast,  and  denounced  as  cardinalists  all  those  who  should 
refuse.     The   Archbishop,   not   having  digested   the    affronts 


460  THE    KISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1565 

which  had  been  put  upon  him  already,  imprudently  ven- 
tured himself  once  more  into  the  confusion,  and  tried  to 
appeal  to  the  reason  of  the  company.  He  might  as  well  have 
addressed  the  crew  of  Comus.  He  gained  nothing  but  addi- 
tional insult.  Brederode  advanced  upon  him  with  threatening 
gestures.  Egmont  implored  the  prelate  to  retire,  or  at  least 
not  to  take  notice  of  a  nobleman  so  obviously  beyond  the  con- 
trol of  his  reason.  The  Bishop,  however,  insisted — min- 
gling reproof,  menace,  and  somewhat  imperious  demands — that 
the  indecent  Saturnalia  should  cease.  It  would  have  been 
wiser  for  him  to  retire.  Count  Hoogstraaten,  a  young 
man  and  small  of  stature,  seized  the  gilt  laver,  in  which 
the  company  had  dipped  their  fingers  before  seating  them- 
selves at  table  :  "Be  quiet,  be  quiet,  little  man,"  said 
Egmont,  soothingly,  doing  his  best  to  restrain  the  tumult. 
"  Little  man,  indeed,"  responded  the  Count,  wrathfully  ;  "  I 
would  have  you  to  know  that  never  did  little  man  spring 
from  my  race."  With  those  words  he  hurled  the  basin, 
water,  and  all,  at  the  head  of  the  Archbishop.  Hoogstraaten 
had  no  doubt  manifested  his  bravery  before  that  day  ;  he  was 
to  display,  on  future  occasions,  a  very  remarkable  degree  of 
heroism  ;  but  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  chivalry  of  the 
noble  house  of  Lalaing  was  not  illustrated  by  this  attack  upon 
a  priest.  The  Bishop  was  sprinkled  by  the  water,  but  not 
struck  by  the  vessel.  Young  Mansfeld,  ashamed  of  the  out- 
rage, stepped  forward  to  apologize  for  the  conduct  of  his  com- 
panions and  to  soothe  the  insulted  prelate.  That  personage, 
however,  exasperated,  very  naturally,  to  the  highest  point, 
pushed  him  rudely  away,  crying,  "  Begone,  begone  !  who  is 
this  boy  that  is  preaching  to  me  ?"  Whereupon,  Mansfeld, 
much  irritated,  lifted  his  hand  towards  the  ecclesiastic,  and 
snapped  his  fingers  contemptuously  in  his  face.  Some  even 
said  that  he  pulled  the  archiepiscopal  nose,  others  that  he 
threatened  his  life  with  a  drawn  dagger.  Nothing  could 
well  have  been  more  indecent  or  more  cowardly  than  the  con- 
duct of  these  nobles  upon  this  occasion.  Then  intoxication, 
together   with   the   character  of  the   victim,   explained,   but 


1565.]  SCENE   AT   CAMDRAY.  461 

certainly  could  not  palliate  the  vulgarity  of  the  exhibition. 
It  was  natural  enough  that  men  like  Brederode  should  find 
sport  in  this  remarkable  badgering  of  a  bishop,  but  we  see  with 
regret  the  part  played  by  Hoogstraaten  in  the  disgraceful  scene. 

The  prelate,  at  last,  exclaiming  that  it  appeared  that  he  had 
been  invited  only  to  be  insulted,  left  the  apartment,  accom- 
panied by  Noircarmes  and  the  Viscount  of  Ghent,  and  threat- 
ening that  all  his  friends  and  relations  should  be  charged  with 
his  vengeance.  The  next  day  a  reconciliation  was  effected,, 
as  well  as  such  an  arrangement  was  possible,  by  the  efforts  of 
Egmont,  who  dined  alone  with  the  prelate.  In  the  evening, 
Hoogstraaten,  Culemburg,  and  Brederode  called  upon  the 
Bishop,  with  whom  they  were  closeted  for  an  hour,  and  the 
party  separated  on  nominal  terms  of  friendship.* 

This  scandalous  scene,  which  had  been  enacted  not  only 
before  many  guests,  but  in  presence  of  a  host  of  servants,  made 
necessarily  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  country.  There 
could  hardly  be  much  difference  of  opinion  among  respectable 
people  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  noblemen  who  had  thus  dis- 
graced themselves.  Even  Brederode  himself,  who  appeared  to 
have  retained,  as  was  natural,  but  a  confused  impression  of 
the  transaction,  seemed  in  the  days  which  succeeded  the 
celebrated  banquet,  to  be  in  doubt  whether  he  and  his  friends 
had  merited  any  great  amount  of  applause.  He  was,  however, 
somewhat  self-contradictory,  although  always  vehement  in  his 
assertions  on  the  subject.  At  one  time  he  maintained — after 
dinner,  of  course — that  he  would  have  killed  the  Archbishop  if 
they  had  not  been  forcibly  separated  ;  at  other  moments  he 
denounced  as  liars  all  persons  who  should  insinuate  that  he 
had  committed  or  contemplated  any  injury  to  that  prelate  ; 
offering  freely  to  fight  any  man  who  disputed  either  of  his 
two  positions.f 

The  whole  scene  was  dramatized  and  represented  in  mas- 
querade at  a  wedding  festival  given  by  Councillor  d'Asson- 


*  Pontus   Payen   MS      Papiers  d'Etat,    viiL    6S1-688;   ix.   16,    17.     Yander 
Haer,  279-283.  f  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  16,  17. 


462  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

leville,  on  the  marriage  of  Councillor  Hopper's  daughter,  one 
of  the  principal  parts  being  enacted  by  a  son  of  the  President- 
judge  of  Artois.*  It  may  be  supposed  that  if  such  eminent 
personages,  in  close  connexion  with  the  government,  took  part 
in  such  proceedings,  the  riot  must  have  been  considered  of  a 
very  pardonable  nature.  The  truth  was,  that  the  Bishop  was 
a  cardinalist,  and  therefore  entirely  out  of  favor  with  the 
administration.  He  was  also  a  man  of  treacherous,  sangui- 
nary  character,  and  consequently  detested  by  the  people.  He 
had  done  his  best  to  destroy  heresy  in  Valenciennes  by  fire 
and  sword.  "  I  will  say  one  thing,"  said  he  in  a  letter  to 
Granvelle,  which  had  been  intercepted,  "  since  the  pot  is 
uncovered,  and  the  whole  cookery  known,  we  had  best  push 
forward  and  make  an  end  of  all  the  principal  heretics,  whether 
rich  or  poor,  without  regarding  whether  the  city  ivill  be  entirely 
ruined  by  such  a  course.  Such  an  opinion  I  should  declare 
openly  were  it  not  that  we  of  the  ecclesiastical  profession  are 
accused  of  always  crying  out  for  blood."f  Such  was  the  pre- 
late's theory.  His  practice  may  be  inferred  from  a  specimen 
of  his  proceedings  which  occurred  at  a  little  later  day.  A 
citizen  of  Cambray,  having  been  converted  to  the  Lutheran 
Confession,  went  to  the  Archbishop,  and  requested  permission 
to  move  out  of  the  country,  taking  his  property  with  him. 
The  petitioner  having  made  his  appearance  in  the  forenoon, 
was  requested  to  call  again  after  dinner,  to  receive  his  answer. 
The  burgher  did  so,  and  was  received,  not  by  the  prelate,  but 
by  the  executioner,  who  immediately  carried  the  Lutheran  to 
the  market-place,  and  cut  off  his  head.^  It  is  sufficiently 
evident  that  a  minister  of  Christ,  with  such  propensities,  could 
not  excite  any  great  sympathy,  however  deeply  affronted  he 
might  have  been  at  a  drinking  party,  so  long  as  any  Christians 
remained  in  the  land. 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  IT. — Pierre  Arset,  President  of  Artois,  was  afterwards  a 
member  of  that  infamous  tribunal  called  the  Council  of  Troubles,  and  popularly 
"of  Blood."  f  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  180,  181. 

\  Ibid,  ii.  458,  459. — Letter  from  "William  of  Orange  to  Landgrave  William 
of  Hesse. 


1565.]  EGMONT   IN   SPAIN.  463 

Egmont  departed  from  Cambray  upon  the  30th  January, 
his  friends  taking  a  most  affectionate  farewell  of  him,  and 
Brederode  assuring  him,  with  a  thousand  oaths,  that  he  would 
forsake  Grod  for  his  service.*  His  reception  at  Madrid  was 
most  brilliant.  When  he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the 
palace,  Philip  rushed  from  his  cabinet  into  the  grand  hall  of 
reception,  and  fell  upon  his  neck,  embracing  him  heartily 
before  the  Count  had  time  to  drop  upon  his  knee  and  kiss  the 
royal  hand.f  During  the  whole  period  of  his  visit  he  dined 
frequently  at  the  King's  private  table,  an  honor  rarely  accorded 
by  Phihp,  and  was  feasted  and  flattered  by  all  the  great  digni- 
taries of  the  court  as  never  a  subject  of  the  Spanish  crown 
had  been  before.  All  vied  with  each  other  in  heaping  honors 
upon  the  man  whom  the  King  was  determined  to  honor.! 
Philip  took  him  out  to  drive  daily  in  his  own  coach,  sent  him 
to  see  the  wonders  of  the  new  Escorial,  which  he  was  building 
to  commemorate  the  battle  of  St.  Quentin,  and,  although 
it  was  still  winter,  insisted  upon  showing  him  the  beauties  of 
his  retreat  in  the  Segovian  forest.§  Granvelle's  counsels  as 
to  the  method  by  which  the  "  friend  of  smoke"  was  so  easily 
to  be  gained,  had  not  fallen  unheeded  in  his  royal  pupil's 
ears.  The  Count  was  lodged  in  the  house  of  Euy  Gomez, 
who  soon  felt  himself  able,  according  to  previous  assurances 
to  that  effect,  contained  in  a  private  letter  of  Armenteros,  to 
persuade  the  envoy  to  any  course  which  Philip  might  com- 
mand. ||  Flattery  without  stint  was  administered.  More 
solid  arguments  to  convince  the  Count  that  Philip  was  the 
most  generous  and  clement  of  princes  were  also  employed 
with  great  effect.  The  royal  dues  upon  the  estate  of 
Gaasbecque,  lately  purchased  by  Egmont,  were  remitted.^"  A 
mortgage  upon  his  Seigneurie  of  Ninove**  was  discharged, 
and  a  considerable  sum  of  money  presented  to  him  in  addition. 
Altogether,  the  gifts  which  the  ambassador  received  from  the 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  16,  11.  f  Pontus  Payen  MS.  f  Ibid. 

§  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  349.  [  Ibid.,  i.  343,  344. 

T  Pontus  Payen  MS  **  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  347,  348. 


464  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC-  [1565. 

royal  bounty  amounted  to  one  hundred  thousand  crowns.* 
Thus  feasted,  flattered,  and  laden  with  presents,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  Count  more  than  justified  the  opinions 
expressed  in  the  letter  of  Armenteros,  that  he  was  a  man 
easily  governed  by  those  who  had  credit  with  him.  Egmont 
hardly  broached  the  public  matters  which  had  brought  him  to 
Madrid.  Upon  the  subject  of  the  edicts,  Philip  certainly  did 
not  dissemble,  however  loudly  the  envoy  may  have  afterwards 
complained  at  Brussels.  In  truth,  Egmont,  intoxicated  by 
the  incense  offered  to  him  at  the  Spanish  court,  was  a  different 
man  from  Egmont  in  the  Netherlands,  subject  to  the  calm  but 
piercing  glance  and  the  irresistible  control  of  Orange.  Philip 
gave  him  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  intended  any  change  in 
the  religious  system  of  the  provinces,  at  least  in  any  sense 
contemplated  by  the  liberal  party.  On  the  contrary,  a 
council  of  doctors  and  ecclesiastics  was  summoned,f  at  whose 
deliberations  the  Count  was  invited  to  assist ;  on  which  occa- 
sion the  King  excited  general  admiration  by  the  fervor  of  his 
piety  and  the  vehemence  of  his  ejaculations.  Falling  upon 
his  knees  before  a  crucifix,  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly,  he 
prayed  that  God  would  keep  him  perpetually  in  the  same 
mind,  and  protested  that  he  would  never  call  himself  master 
of  those  who  denied  the  Lord  God.J  Such  an  exhibition 
could  leave  but  little  doubt  in  the  minds  of  those  who  wit- 
nessed it  as  to  the  royal  sentiments,  nor  did  Egmont  make 
any  effort  to  obtain  any  relaxation  of  those  religious  edicts, 
which  he  had  himself  declared  worthy  of  approbation,  and  fit 
to  be  maintained. §  As  to  the  question  of  enlarging  the 
state-council,  Philip  dismissed  the  subject  with  a  few  vague 
observations,  which  Egmont,  not  very  zealous  on  the  subject 
at  the  moment,  perhaps  misunderstood.  The  punishment  of 
heretics  by  some  new  method,  so  as  to  secure  the  pains  but  to 
take  away  the  glories  of  martyrdom,  was  also  slightly  dis- 
cussed, and   here  again  Egmont  was   so  unfortunate  as   to 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  385.  f  Strada,  iv.  152. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  217  \  Ibid 


1565.]  FLATTERY.  465 

misconceive  ihe  royal  meaning,  and  to  interpret  an  additional 
refinement  of  cruelty  into  an  expression  of  clemency.  On  the 
whole,  however,  there  was  not  much  negotiation  between  the 
monarch  and  the  ambassador.  "When  the  Count  spoke  of 
business,  the  King  would  speak  to  him  of  his  daughters,  and 
of  his  desire  to  see  them  provided  with  brilliant  marriages.* 
As  Egmont  had  eight  girls,  besides  two  sons,  it  was  natural 
that  he  should  be  pleased  to  find  Philip  taking  so  much 
interest  in  looking  out  husbands  for  them.  The  King  spoke 
to  him,  as  hardly  could  be  avoided,  of  the  famous  fool's-cap 
livery.  The  Count  laughed  the  matter  off  as  a  jest,  j)ro- 
testing  that  it  was  a  mere  foolish  freak,  originating  at  the 
wine-table,  and  asseverating,  with  warmth,  that  nothing 
disrespectful  or  disloyal  to  his  Majesty  had  been  contemplated 
upon  that  or  upon  any  other  occasion.  Had  a  single  gentle- 
man uttered  an  undutiful  word  against  the  King,  Egmont 
vowed  he  would  have  stabbed  him  through  and  through  upon 
the  spot,  had  he  been  his  own  brother.f  These  warm  protest- 
ations were  answered  by  a  gentle  reprimand  as  to  the  past  by 
Philip,  and  with  a  firm  caution  as  to  the  future.  "  Let  it  be 
discontinued  entirely,  Count/'  said  the  King,  as  the  two  were 
driving  together  in  the  royal  carriage.^  Egmont  expressed 
himself  in  handsome  terms  concerning  the  Cardinal,  §  in 
return  for  the  wholesale  approbation  quoted  to  him  in  regard 
to  his  own  character,  from  the  private  letters  of  that  sagacious 
personage  to  his  Majesty.  Certainly,  after  all  this,  the  Count 
might  suppose  the  affair  of  the  livery  forgiven.  Thus 
amicably  passed  the  hours  of  that  mission,  the  preliminaries 
for  which  had  called  forth  so  much  eloquence  from  the  Prince 
of  Orange  and  so  nearly  carried  off  with  apoplexy  the  Presi- 
dent Viglius.  On  his  departure  Egmont  received  a  letter 
of  instructions  from  Philip  as  to  the  repurt  which  he  was  to 
make  upon  his  arrival  in  Brussels,  to  the  Duchess.  After 
many  things  personally  flattering  to  himself,  the  envoy  was 


*  Bentivoglio,  ii.  24.  f  Strada,  iv.  153, 

X  "  Conde,  no  se  haga  mas." — Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  277. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  5G5. 

vol.  i.  30 


466  THE   RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

directed  to  represent  the  King  as  overwhelmed  with  incredible 
grief  at  hearing  the  progress  made  by  the  heretics,  but  as 
immutably  determined  to  permit  no  change  of  religion  within 
his  dominions,  even  were  he  to  die  a  thousand  deaths  in  conse- 
quence. The  King,  he  was  to  state,  requested  the  Duchess 
forthwith  to  assemble  an  extraordinary  session  of  the  council, 
at  which  certain  bishops,  theological  doctors,  and  very  orthodox 
lawyers,  were  to  assist,  in  which,  under  pretence  of  discussing 
the  Council  of  Trent  matter,  it  was  to  be  considered  whether 
there  could  not  be  some  "  new  way  devised  for  executing  her- 
etics ;  not  indeed  one  by  which  any  deduction  should  be  made 
from  their  sufferings  (which  certainly  was  not  the  royal  wish, 
nor  likely  to  be  grateful  to  God  or  salutary  to  religion),  but  by 
which  all  hopes  of  glory — that  powerful  incentive  to  their  im- 
piety— might  be  precluded."*  With  regard  to  any  suggested 
alterations  in  the  council  of  state,  or  in  the  other  two  councils, 
the  King  was  to  be  represented  as  unwilling  to  form  any 
decision  until  he  should  hear,  at  length,  from  the  Duchess  Ke- 
gent  upon  the  subject. 

Certainly  here  was  a  sufficient  amount  of  plain  speaking 
upon  one  great  subject,  and  very  little  encouragement  with  re- 
gard to  the  other.  Yet  Egmont,  who  immediately  after  receiv- 
ing these  instructions  set  forth  upon  his  return  to  the  Nether- 
lands, manifested  nothing  but  satisfaction.  Philip  presented 
to  him,  as  his  travelling  companion,  the  young  Prince  Alexan- 
der of  Parma,  then  about  to  make  a  visit  to  his  mother  in 
Brussels,  and  recommended  the  youth,  afterwards  destined  to 
play  so  prominent  a  part  in  Flemish  history,  to  his  peculiar 
care.f  Egmont  addressed  a  letter  to  the  King  from  Valladolid, 
in  which  he  indulged  in  ecstasies  concerning  the  Escorial  and 
the  wood  of  Segovia,  and  declared  that  he  was  returning  to 
the  Netherlands  "  the  most  contented  man  in  the  world."J 

He  reached  Brussels  at  the  end  of  April.  Upon  the  fifth  of 
May  he  appeared  before  the  council,  and  proceeded  to  give  an 


*  Strada,  iv.  153,  sqq.     Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  347.     Hopper,  Rec- 
et  Mem.,  46.         f  Strada,  iv.  155.         %  Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II..  i.  349 


1565.]  egmont's  report.  467 

account  of  Lis  interview  with  the  King,  together  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  royal  intentions  and  opinions.  These  were  already 
sufficiently  well  known.  Letters,  written  after  the  envoy's  de- 
parture, had  arrived  before  him,  in  which,  while  in  the  main 
presenting  the  same  views  as  those  contained  in  the  instruc- 
tions to  Egmont,  Philip  had  expressed  his  decided  prohibition 
of  the  project  to  enlarge  the  state  council  and  to  suppress 
the  authority  of  the  other  two.*  Nevertheless,  the  Count 
made  his  report  according  to  the  brief  received  at  Madrid, 
and  assured  his  hearers  that  the  King  was  all  benignity, 
having  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as  the  temporal  and  eter- 
nal welfare  of  the  provinces.  The  siege  of  Malta,  he  stated, 
would  prevent  the  royal  visit  to  the  Netherlands  for  the 
moment,  but  it  was  deferred  only  for  a  brief  period.  To 
remedy  the  deficiency  in  the  provincial  exchequer,  large  re- 
mittances would  be  made  immediately  from  Spain.  To 
provide  for  the  increasing  difficulties  of  the  religious  question, 
a  convocation  of  nine  learned  and  saintly  personages  was 
recommended,  who  should  devise  some  new  scheme  by  which 
the  objections  to  the  present  system  of  chastising  heretics 
might  be  obviated.j" 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  so  meagre  a  result  to 
the  mission  of  Egmont  was  not  likely  to  inspire  the  hearts  of 
Orange  and  his  adherents  with  much  confidence.  No  imme- 
diate explosion  of  resentment,  however,  occurred.  The 
general  aspect  for  a  few  days  was  peaceful.  Egmont  mani- 
fested much  contentment  with  the  reception  which  he  met 
with  in  Spain,  and  described  the  King's  friendly  dispositions 
towards  the  leading  nobles  in  lively  colors.  He  went  to  his 
government  immediately  after  his  return,  assembled  the 
states  of  Artois,  in  the  city  of  Arras,  and  delivered  the  letters 
sent  to  that  body  by  the  King.  He  made  a  speech  on  this 
occasion,;*;  informing  the  estates  that  his  Majesty  had  given 
orders  that  the  edicts  of  the  Emperor  were  to  be  enforced  to 


*  Strada,  iv.  154.  f  Hopper,  Kea  c-t  Mem.,  44-47.     Hoofd,  ii.  50-52. 

f  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


468  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

the  letter  ;  adding  that  he  had  told  the  King,  freely,  his  own 
opinion  upon  the  subject,  in  order  to  dissuade  him  from  that 
which  others  were  warmly  urging.  He  described  Philip  as 
the  most  liberal  and  debonair  of  princes  ;  his  council  in 
Spain  as  cruel  and  sanguinary.  Time  was  to  show  whether 
the  epithets  thus  applied  to  the  advisers  were  not  more  ap- 
plicable to  the  monarch  than  the  eulogies  thus  lavished  by 
the  blind  and  predestined  victim.  It  will  also  be  perceived 
that  this  language,  used  before  the  estates  of  Artois,  varied 
materially  from  his  observation  to  the  Dowager  Duchess  of 
Aerschot,  denouncing  as  enemies  the  men  who  accused  him  of 
having  requested  a  moderation  of  the  edicts.  In  truth,  this 
most  vacillating,  confused,  and  unfortunate  of  men  perhaj>s 
scarcely  comprehended  the  purport  of  his  recent  negotiations 
in  Spain,  nor  perceived  the  drift  of  his  daily  remarks  at 
home.  He  was,  however,  somewhat  vainglorious  immediately 
after  his  return,  and  excessively  attentive  to  business.  "  He 
talks  like  a  King,"  said  Morillon,  spitefully,  "  negotiates 
night  and  day,  and  makes  all  bow  before  him."55  His  house 
was  more  thronged  with  petitioners,  courtiers,  and  men  of 
affairs,  than  even  the  palace  of  the  Duchess.  He  avowed  fre- 
quently that  he  would  devote  his  life  and  his  fortune  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  King's  commands,  and  declared  his  un- 
compromising hostility  to  all  who  should  venture  to  oppose  that 
loyal  determination. 

It  was  but  a  very  short  time,  however,  before  a  total  change 
was  distinctly  perceptible  in  his  demeanor.  These  halcyon 
days  were. soon  fled.  The  arrival  of  fresh  letters  from  Spain 
gave  a  most  unequivocal  evidence  of  the  royal  determination, 
if,  indeed,  any  doubt  could  be  rationally  entertained  before. 
The  most  stringent  instructions  to  keep  the  whole  machinery 
of  persecution  constantly  at  work  were  transmitted  to  the 
Duchess,  and  aroused  the  indignation  of  Orange  and  his 
followers.  They  avowed  that  they  could  no  longer  trust  the 
royal  word,  since,  so  soon  after  Egmont's  departure,  the  King 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  316. 


1565.]  confusion.  469 

had  written  despatches  so  much  at  variance  with  his  language, 
as  reported  by  the  envoy.  There  was  nothing,  they  said, 
clement  and  debonair  in  these  injunctions  upon  gentlemen  of 
their  position  and  sentiments  to  devote  their  time  to  the 
encouragement  of  hangmen  and  inquisitors.  The  Duchess 
was  unable  to  pacify  the  nobles.  Egmont  was  beside  himself 
with  rage.  With  his  usual  recklessness  and  wrath,  he  express- 
ed himself  at  more  than  one  session  of  the  state  council  in 
most  unmeasured  terms.  His  anger  had  been  more  inflamed 
by  information  which  he  had  received  from  the  second  son 
of  Berlaymont,  a  young  and  indiscreet  lad,  who  had  most 
unfortunately  communicated  many  secrets  which .  he  had 
learned  from  his  father,  but  which  were  never  intended  for  Est- 
mont's  car.* 

Philip's  habitual  dissimulation  had  thus  produced  much 
unnecessary  perplexity.  It  was  his  custom  to  carry  on  corre- 
spondence through  the  aid  of  various  secretaries,  and  it  was 
Ins  invariable  practice  to  deceive  them  all.  Those  who  were 
upon  the  most  confidential  terms  with  the  monarch,  were 
most  sure  to  be  duped  upon  all  important  occasions.  It  has 
been  seen  that  even  the  astute  Granvelle  could  not  escape  this 
common  lot  of  all  who  believed  their  breasts  the  depositories 
of  the  royal  secrets.  Upon  this  occasion,  Gonzalo  Perez  and 
Ruy  Gomez  complained  bitterly  that  they  had  known  nothing 
of  the  letters  which  had  recently  been  despatched  from  Valla- 
dolid,  while  Tisnacq  and  Courterville  had  been  ignorant  of  the 
communications  forwarded  by  the  hands  of  Egmont.  They 
avowed  that  the  King  created  infinite  trouble  by  thus  treating 
his  affairs  in  one  way  with  one  set  of  councillors  and  in  an 
opposite  sense  with  the  others,  thus  dissembling  with  all,  and 
added  that  Philip  was  now  much  astonished  at  the  dissatis- 
faction created  in  the  provinces  by  the  discrepancy  between 
the  French  letters  brought  by  Egmont,  and  the  Spanish  let- 
ters since  despatched  to  the  Duchess.  As  this  was  his  regular 
manner  of  transacting  business,  not  only  for  the  Netherlands, 


Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  L  355,  356. 


470  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

but  for  all  his  dominions,  they  were  of  opinion  that  such  con- 
fusion and  dissatisfaction  might  well  be  expected.0 

After  all,  however,  notwithstanding  the  indignation  of  Eg- 
mont,  it  must  be  confessed  that  he  had  been  an  easy  dupe. 
He  had  been  dazzled  by  royal  smiles,  intoxicated  by  court  in- 
cense, contaminated  by  yet  baser  bribes.  He  had  been  turned 
from  the  path  of  honor  and  the  companionship  of  the  wise  and 
noble  to  do  the  work  of  those  who  were  to  compass  his  destruc- 
tion. The  Prince  of  Orange  reproached  him  to  his  face  with 
having  forgotten,  when  in  Spain,  to  represent  the  views  of  his 
associates  and  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  while  he  had 
well  remembered  his  own  private  objects,  and  accepted  the 
lavish  bounty  of  the  King.f  Egmont,  stung  to  the  heart  by 
the  reproof,  from  one  whom  he  honored  and  who  wished  him 
well,  became  sad  and  sombre  for  a  long  time,  abstained  from 
the  court  and  from  society,  and  expressed  frequently  the  inten- 
tion of  retiring  to  his  estates.^  He  was,  however,  much  gov- 
erned by  his  secretary,  the  Seigneur  do  Bakerzeel,§  a  man  of 
restless,  intriguing,  and  deceitful  character,  who  at  this  period 
exercised  as  great  influence  over  the  Count  as  Armenteros  con- 
tinued to  maintain  over  the  Duchess,  whose  unpopularity  from 
that  and  other  circumstances  was  daily  increasing.  || 

In  obedience  to  the  commands  of  the  King,  the  canons  of  Trent 
had  been  published.  They  were  nominally  enforced  at  Cambray, 


0  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  358 

f  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  345. — "  II  y  a  este  parole  picante  du  Pce  d'Orange  contre 
le  Cte  d'Egmont  comme  s'il  n'auroit  rien  oblie  de  son  particulier;  maia  bien 
de  co  qui  concernoit  des  seigneurs,  dont  d'Egmont  at  este  aggravie  et  ne  fust 
jeudi  en  court  ny  en  la  procession." — Letter  of  Morillon  to  Granvelle,  of  date 
22d  June,  1565. 

"  Le  Pce  d'Orange  ne  so  pouvoit  abstenir d'user  des  mots  picquants  contro 

le  Cte  d'Egmont  qu'il  n'avoit  faitaultre  chose  en  Espagne  que  remplir  sa  bourse, 
et  que  les  50,000  pistolets  quo  luy  avoit  donne  le  Roy  luy  avoyent  faict  oublier 
les  causses  de  son  voyage  et  charges  de  sa  legation." — Pontus  Payen  MS.  Com- 
pare Bentivoglio,  ii.  24,  25.  \  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  386. 

§  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  459.  Letter  of  Bave  to  Granvelle.  Correspondance  do 
Philippe  II.,  i.    365,  366.     Armenteros  to  G.  Perez. 

1  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  i.  425. 


1565.]  OKTHODOX  COUNCIL.  471 

but  a  fierce  opposition  was  made  by  the  clergy  themselves 
to  the  innovation  in  Mechlin,  Utrecht,  and  many  other  places. 
This  matter,  together  with  other  more  vitally  important  ques- 
tions, came  before  the  assembly  of  bishops  and  doctors,  which, 
according  to  Philip's  instructions,  had  been  convoked  by  the 
Duchess.  The  opinion  of  the  learned  theologians  was,  on 
the  whole,  that  the  views  of  the  Trent  Council,  with  regard  to 
reformation  of  ecclesiastical  morals  and  popular  education,  was 
sound.  There  was  some  discordancy  between  the  clerical  and 
lay  doctors  upon  other  points.  The  seigniors,  lawyers,  and 
deputies  from  the  estates  iverc  all  in  favor  of  repealing  the 
penalty  of  death  for  heretical  offences  of  any  land.  President 
Viglius,  with  all  the  bishops  and  doctors  of  divinity,  including 
the  prelates  of  St.  Omer,  Namur  and  Ypres,  and  four  theolog- 
ical professors  from  Louvain,  stoutly  maintained  the  contrary 
opinion*  The  President  especially,  declared  himself  vehe- 
mently in  favor  of  the  death  punishment,  and  expressed  much 
anger  against  those  who  were  in  favor  of  its  abolition.^  The 
Duchess,  upon  the  second  day  of  the  assembly,  propounded 
formally  the  question,  whether  any  change  was  to  be  made  in 
the  chastisement  of  heretics.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  with 
Counts  Horn  and  Egmont,  had,  however,  declined  to  take 
part  in  the  discussions,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  his 
Majesty's  intention  that  state  councillors  should  deliver  their 
opinions  before  strangers,  but  that  persons  from  outside  had 
been  summoned  to  communicate  their  advice  to  the  Council4 
The  seigniors  having  thus  washed  their  hands  of  the  matter, 
the  doctors  came  to  a  conclusion  with  great  alacrity.  It  was 
their  unanimous  opinion  that  it  comported  neither  with  the 
service  of  God  nor  the  common  weal,  to  make  any  change  in 
the  punishment,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  extreme 
youth  ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  heretics  were  only  to  be 
dealt  with  by  retaining  the  edicts  in  their  rigor,  and  by  cou- 
rageously chastising   the   criminals.§     After   sitting  for   the 

*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  408. 

f  Ibid. — "T  respondio  con  mucho  animo  contra  un  tal  opinioc." 

J  Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.,  47.  §  Ibid.,  43 


472  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

greater  part  of  six  days,  the  bishops  and  doctors  of  divinity- 
reduced  their  sentiments  to  writing,  and  affixed  their  signa- 
tures to  the  document.  Upon  the  great  point  of  the  change 
suggested  in  the  penalties  of  heresy,  it  was  declared  that  no 
alteration  was  advisable  in  the  edicts,  which  had  been  working 
so  well  for  thirty-five  years.*  At  the  same  time  it  was  sug- 
gested that  "some  persons,  in  respect  to  their  age  and 
quality,  might  be  executed  or  punished  more  or  less  rigorously 
than  others  ;  some  by  death,  some  by  galley  slavery,  some  by 
perpetual  banishment  and  entire  confiscation  of  property." 
The  possibility  was  also  admitted,  of  mitigating  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who,  without  being  heretics  or  sectaries,  might 
bring  themselves  within  the  provisions  of  the  edicts,  "  through 
curiosity,  nonchalance,  or  otherwise."  Such  offenders,  it 
was  hinted,  might  be  "whipped  with  rods,  fined,  banished, 
or  subjected  to  similar  penalties  of  a  lighter  nature/'f  It 
will  be  perceived  by  this  slight  sketch  of  the  advice  thus 
offered  to  the  Duchess — that  these  theologians  were  disposed 
very  carefully  to  strain  the  mercy,  which  they  imagined 
possible  in  some  cases,  but  which  was  to  drop  only  upon  the 
heads  of  the  just.  Heretics  were  still  to  be  dealt  with,  so 
far  as  the  bishops  and  presidents  could  affect  their  doom,  with 
unmitigated  rigor. 

When  the  assembly  was  over,  the  Duchess,  thus  put  in 
possession  of  the  recorded  wisdom  of  these  special  councillors, 
asked  her  constitutional  advisers  what  she  was  to  do  with  it. 
Orange,  Egmont,  Horn,  Mansfeld  replied,  however,  that  it 
was  not  their  affair,  and  that  their  opinion  had  not  been 
demanded  by  his  Majesty  in  the  premises.^  The  Duchess 
accordingly  transmitted  to  Philip  the  conclusions  of  the 
assembly,  together  with  the  reasons  of  the  seigniors  for 
refusing  to  take  part  in  its  deliberations.  The  sentiments  of 
Orange  could  hardly  be  doubtful,  however,  nor  his  silence  fail 
to  give  offense  to  the  higher  powers.  He  contented  himself 
for  the  time  with  keeping  his  eyes  and  ears  open  to  the  course 


*  Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.,  48,  49.  t  Ibid.  J  Ibid. 


1565.]  THE   DIE    CAST.  4T3 

of  events,  but  he  watched  well.  He  had  "  little  leisure  for 
amusing  himself/'  as  Brederode  suggested.  That  free-spoken 
individual  looked  upon  the  j>roceedings  of  the  theological 
assembly  with  profound  disgust.  "  Your  letter/'  he  wrote  to 
Count  Louis,  "is  full  of  those  blackguards  of  bishops  and 
presidents.  I  would  the  race  were  extinct,  like  that  of  green 
dogs.  They  will  always  combat  with  the  arms  which  they  have 
ever  used,  remaining  to  the  end  avaricious,  brutal,  obstinate, 
ambitious,  et  cetera.     I  leave  you  to  supply  the  rest."* 

Thus,  then,  it  was  settled  beyond  peradventure  that  there 
was  to  be  no  compromise  with  heresy.  The  King  had  willed 
it.  The  theologians  had  advised  it.  The  Duchess  had  pro- 
claimed it.  It  was  supposed  that  without  the  axe,  the  fire, 
and  the  rack,  the  Catholic  religion  would  be  extinguished,  and 
that  the  whole  population  of  the  Netherlands  would  embrace 
the  Reformed  Faith.  This  was  the  distinct  declaration  of 
Viglius,  in  a  private  letter  to  Granvelle.  "  Many  seek  to 
abolish  the  chastisement  of  heresy,"  said  he  ;  "  if  they  gain 
this  point,  actum  est  de  religions  Catlwlica  ;  for  as  most  of  the 
people  are  ignorant  fools,  the  heretics  will  soon  be  the  great 
majority,  if  by  fear  of  punishment  they  are  not  kept  in  the 
true  path."f 

The  uneasiness,  the  terror,  the  wrath  of  the  people  seemed 
rapidly  culminating  to  a  crisis.  Nothing  was  talked  of  but 
the  edicts  and  the  inquisition.  Nothing  else  entered  into  the 
minds  of  men.  In  the  streets,  in  the  shops,  in  the  taverns, 
in  the  fields  ;  at  market,  at  church,  at  funerals,  at  weddings  ; 
in  the  noble's  castle,  at  the  farmer's  fireside,  in  the  mechanic's 
garret,  upon  the  merchants'  exchange,  there  was  but  one  per- 
petual subject  of  shuddering  conversation.  It  was  better, 
men  began  to  whisper  to  each  other,  to  die  at  once  than  to 
live  in  perpetual  slavery.  It  was  better  to  fall  with  arms  in 
hand  than  to  be  tortured  and  butchered  by  the  inquisition. 
Who  could  expect  to  contend  with  such  a  foe  in  the  dark  ? 

They  reproached  the  municipal   authorities  with  lending 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  382,  \  Ibid.,  i.  370.  37L 


474  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

themselves  as  instruments  to  the  institution.  They  asked  mag- 
istrates and  sheriffs  how  far  they  would  go  in  their  defence 
"before  God's  tribunal  for  the  slaughter  of  his  creatures,  if  they 
could  only  answer  the  divine  arraignment  by  appealing  to  the 
edict  of  1550.°  On  the  other  hand,  the  inquisitors  were 
clamorous  in  abuse  of  the  languor  and  the  cowardice  of  the 
secular  authorities.  They  wearied  the  ear  of  the  Duchess  with 
complaints  of  the  difficulties  which  they  encountered  in  the 
execution  of  their  functions — of  the  slight  alacrity  on  the  part 
of  the  various  officials  to  assist  them  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties.  Notwithstanding  the  express  command  of  his  Maj- 
esty to  that  effect,  they  experienced,  they  said,  a  constant 
deficiency  of  that  cheerful  co-operation  which  they  had  the 
right  to  claim,  and  there  was  perpetual  discord  in  consequence. 
They  had  been  empowered  by  papal  and  by  royal  decree  to 
make  use  of  the  gaols,  the  constables,  the  whole  penal 
machinery  of  each  province  ;  yet  the  officers  often  refused  to 
act,  and  had  even  dared  to  close  the  prisons.  Nevertheless,  it 
had  been  intended,  as  fully  appeared  by  the  imperial:  and  royal 
instructions  to  the  inquisitors,  that  their  action  through  the 
medium  of  the  provincial  authorities  should  be  unrestrained. 
Not  satisfied  with  these  representations  to  the  Regent,  the 
inquisitors  had  also  made  a  direct  appeal  to  the  King.  Judocus 
Tiletanus  and  Michael  de  Bay  addressed  to  Philip  a  letter  from 
Louvain.  They  represented  to  him  that  they  were  the  only 
two  left  of  the  five  inquisitors-general  appointed  by  the  Pope 
for  all  the  Netherlands,  the  other  three  having  been  recently 
converted  into  bishops.  Daily  complaints,  they  said,  were 
reaching  them  of  the  prodigious  advance  of  heresy,  but  their 
own  office  was  becoming  so  odious,  so  calumniated,  and  exposed 
to  so  much  resistance,  that  they  could  not  perform  its  duties 
without  personal  danger.  They  urgently  demanded  from  his 
Majesty,  therefore,  additional  support  and  assistance.f  Thus 
the  Duchess,  exposed  at  once  to  the  rising  wrath  of  a  whole 
people  and  to   the   shrill   blasts  of  inquisitorial   anger,  was 


*  Hoofd  ii.  65.  f  Correspondance  dc  Philippe  II.,  i.  353. 


1565.]  POPULAR  FRENZY.  475 

tossed  to  and  fro,  as  upon  a  slormy  sea.  The  commands  of 
the  King,  too  explicit  to  be  tampered  with,  were  obeyed.  The 
theological  assembly  had  met  and  given  advice.  The  Council 
of  Trent  was  here  and  there  enforced.  The  edicts  were  re- 
published and  the  inquisitors  encouraged.  Moreover,  in  ac- 
cordance with  Philip's  suggestion,  orders  were  now  given  that 
the  heretics  should  be  executed  at  midnight  in  their  dungeons, 
by  binding  their  heads  between  their  knees,  and  then  slowly 
suffocating  them  in  tubs  of  water.*  Secret  drowning  was  sub- 
stituted for  public  burning,  in  order  that  the  heretic's  crown  of 
vainglory,  which  was  thought  to  console  him  in  his  agony, 
might  never  be  placed  upon  his  head. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer,  Magaret  wrote  to  her  brother 
that  the  popular  frenzy  was  becoming  more  and  more  intense. 
The  people  were  crying  aloud,  she  said,  that  the  Spanish  in- 
quisition, or  a  worse  than  Spanish  inquisition,  had  been  es- 
tablished among  them  by  means  of  bishops  and  ecclesiastics.^ 
She  urged  Philip  to  cause  the  instructions  for  the  inquisitors 
to  be  revised.  Egmont,  she  said,  was  vehement  in  expressing 
his  dissatisfaction  at  the  discrepancy  between  Philip's  language 
to  him  by  word  of  mouth  and  that  of  the  royal  despatches  on 
the  religious  question.  The  other  seigniors  were  even  more 
indignant. 

While  the  popular  commotion  in  the  Netherlands  was  thus 
fearfully  increasing,  another  circumstance  came  to  add  to  the 
prevailing  discontent.  The  celebrated  interview  between 
Catharine  de  Medici  and  her  daughter,  the  Queen  of  Spain, 
occurred  in  the  middle  of  the  month  of  June,  at  Bayonne. 
The  darkest  suspicions  as  to  the  results  to  humanity  of  the 
plots  to  be  engendered  in  tins  famous  conference  between  the 
representatives  of  France  and  Spain  were  universally  enter- 
tained. These  suspicions  were  most  reasonable,  but  they  were 
nevertheless  mistaken.  The  plan  for  a  concerted  action  to  ex- 
terminate the  heretics  in  both  kingdoms  had,  as  it  was  perfectly 

*  Meteren,  ii.  30J.     Brandt,  Reformatie,  i.  v.  278. — Compare  de  Thou,  v.  xL 
206;  Hopper,  Rec.  et.  Mem.,  56,  57. 
f  Correspoodance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  360-264. 


476  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

well  known,  been  formed  long  before  this  epoch.  It  was  also 
no  secret  that  the  Queen  Eegent  of  France  had  been  desirous 
of  meeting  her  son-in-law  in  order  to  confer  with  him  upon  im- 
portant matters,  face  to  face.  Philip,  however,  had  latterly- 
been  disinclined  for  the  personal  interview  with  Catharine.*  As 
his  wife  was  most  anxious  to  meet  her  mother,  it  was  neverthe- 
less finally  arranged  that  Queen  Isabella  should  make  the 
journey  ;  but  he  excused  himself,  on  account  of  the  multiplic- 
ity of  his  affairs,  from  accompanying  her  in  the  expedition. 
The  Duke  of  Alva  was,  accordingly,  appointed  to  attend  the 
Queen  to  Bayonne.  Both  were  secretly  instructed  by  Philip  to 
leave  nothing  undone  in  the  approaching  interview  toward  ob- 
taining the  hearty  co-operation  of  Catharine  de  Medici  in  a 
general  and  formally-arranged  scheme  for  the  simultaneous  ex- 
termination of  all  heretics  in  the  French  and  Spanish  domin- 
ions. Alva's  conduct  in  this  diplomatic  commission  was 
stealthy  in  the  extreme.  His  lettersf  reveal  a  subtlety  of 
contrivance  and  delicacy  of  handling  such  as  the  world  has  not 
generally  reckoned  among  his  characteristics.  All  his  adroit- 
ness, as  well  as  the  tact  of  Queen  Isabella,  by  whose  ability 
Alva  declared  himself  to  have  been  astounded,  proved  quite 
powerless  before  the  steady  fencing  of  the  wily  Catharine.  The 
Queen  Eegent,  whose  skill  the  Duke,  even  while  defeated,  ac- 
knowledged to  his  master,  continued  firm  in  her  design  to  main- 
tain her  own  power  by  holding  the  balance  between  Guise  and 
Montmorency,  between  Leaguer  and  Huguenot.  So  long  as 
her  enemies  could  be  employed  in  exterminating  each  other, 
she  was  willing  to  defer  the  extermination  of  the  Huguenots. 
The  great  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  was  to  sleep  for  seven 
years  longer.  Alva  was,  to  be  sure,  much  encouraged  at  first 
by  the  language  of  the  French  princes  and  nobles  who  were 
present  at  Bayonne.  Monluc  protested  that  "  they  might  saw 
the  Queen  Dowager  in  two  before  she  would  become  Hugue- 

*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  380,  381- 

f  These  remarkable  letters  are  published  in  the  Papiers  d'Etat,  du  Card 
Granvelle,  ix.  281-330,  and  reveal  the  whole  truth  concerning  the  famous  con- 
ference of  Bayonne. 


1565.]  THE   BAYONNE   INTERVIEW.  477 

not/'*  Montpensier  exclaimed  that  "  he  would  be  cut  in  pieces 
for  Philip's  service — that  the  Spanish  monarch  was  the  only 
hope  for  France,"  and,  embracing  Alva  with  fervor,  he  affirmed 
that  "  if  his  body  were  to  be  opened  at  that  moment,  the 
name  of  Philip  would  be  found  imprinted  upon  his  heart."f 
The  Duke,  having  no  power  to  proceed  to  an  autopsy, 
physical  or  moral,  of  Montpensier's  interior,  was  left  some- 
what in  the  dark,  notwithstanding  these  ejaculations.  His 
first  conversation  with  the  youthful  King,  however,  soon  dis- 
pelled his  hopes.  He  found  immediately,  in  his  own  words, 
that  Charles  the  Ninth  "  had  been  doctored."^:  To  take  up 
arms,  for  religious  reasons,  against  his  own  subjects,  the 
monarch  declared  to  be  ruinous  and  improper.  It  was  obvious 
to  Alva  that  the  royal  pupil  haxl  learned  his  lesson  for  that 
occasion.  It  was  a  pity  for  humanity  that  the  wisdom  thus 
hypocritically  taught  him  could  not  have  sunk  into  his  heart. 
The  Duke  did  his  best  to  bring  forward  the  plans  and  wishes 
of  his  royal  master,  but  without  success.  The  Queen  Eegent 
proposed  a  league  of  the  two  Kings  and  the  Emperor  against 
the  Turk,  and  wished  to  arrange  various  matrimonial  alliances 
between  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  three  houses.  Alva 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  alliances  were  already  close 
enough,  while,  on  the  contrary,  a  secret  league  against  the 
Protestants  would  make  all  three  families  the  safer.  Cath- 
arine, however,  was  not  to  be  turned  from  her  position.  She 
refused  even  to  admit  that  the  Chancellor  de  l'Hospital  was  a 
Huguenot,  to  which  the  Duke  replied  that  she  was  the  only 
person  in  her  kingdom  who  held  that  opinion.  She  expressed 
an  intention  of  convoking  an  assembly  of  doctors,  and  Alva 
ridiculed  in  his  letters  to  Philip  the  affectation  of  such  a  pro- 
ceeding. In  short,  she  made  it  sufficiently  evident  that  the 
hour  for  the  united  action  of  the  French  and  Spanish  sover- 
eigns against  their  subjects  had  not  struck,  so  that  the  famous 


°  "Se  dexaria  asserrar  que  hazerse  ugonota." — Papiers  d'Etat,  ubi  sup. 

f  "Que  por  Y.  AT.  se  dexaria  hacer  pedazos y  que  si  le  abriasen  el  cora- 

con  le  hallarian  escripto  el  nombre  de  Y.  M." — Ibid. 

X  "  Como  es,  descubri  lo  que  le  teniae  predicado." — Ibid. 


478  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

Bayonne  conference  was  terminated  without  a  result.  It 
seemed  not  the  less  certain,  however,  in  the  general  opinion 
of  mankind,  that  all  the  particulars  of  a  regular  plot  had  been 
definitely  arranged  upon  this  occasion,  for  the  extermination 
of  the  Protestants,  and  the  error  has  been  propagated  by  his- 
torians of  great  celebrity  of  all  parties,  down  to  our  own  days. 
The  secret  letters  of  Alva,  however,  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the 
facts. 

In  the  course  of  November,  fresh  letters  from  Philip  arrived 
in  the  Netherlands,  confirming  every  thing  which  he  had 
previously  written.  He  wrote  personally  to  the  inquisitors- 
general,  Tiletanus  and  De  Bay,  encouraging  them,  com- 
mending them,  promising  them  his  support,  and  urging 
them  not  to  be  deterred  by  any  consideration  from  thoroughly 
fulfilling  their  duties.  He  wrote  Peter  Titelmann  a  letter, 
in  which  he  applauded  the  pains  taken  by  that  functionary 
to  remedy  the  ills  which  religion  was  suffering,  assured 
him  of  his  gratitude,  exhorted  him  to  continue  in  his  virtu- 
ous course,  and  avowed  his  determination  to  spare  neither 
pains,  expense,  nor  even  his  own  life,  to  sustain  the  Catholic 
Faith.  To  the  Duchess  he  wrote  at  great  length,  and  in 
most  unequivocal  language.  He  denied  that  what  he  had 
written  from  Valladolid  was  of  different  meaning  from  the 
sense  of  the  despatches  by  Egmont.  With  regard  to  certain 
Anabaptist  prisoners,  concerning  whose  fate  Margaret  had 
requested  his  opinion,  he  commanded  their  execution,  adding 
that  such  was  his  will  in  the  case  of  all,  whatever  their 
quality,  who  could  be  caught.  That  which  the  people  said 
in  the  Netherlands  touching  the  inquisition,  he  pronounced 
extremely  distasteful  to  him.  That  institution,  which  had 
existed  under  his  predecessors,  he  declared  more  necessary 
than  ever ;  nor  would  he  suffer  it  to  be  discredited.  He 
desired  his  sister  to  put  no  faith  in  idle  talk,  as  to  the  incon- 
veniences likely  to  flow  from  the  rigor  of  the  inquisition. 
Much  greater  inconveniences  would  be  the  result  if  the  inquis- 
itors did  not  proceed  with  their  labors,  and  the  Duchess  was 
commanded   to  write  to  the  secular  judges,  enjoining  upon 


1565.]  THE   INQUISITION    SUSTAINED.  479 

them  to  place  no  obstacles  in  the  path,  but  to  afford  all  the 
resistance  which  might  be  required.'* 

To  Egmont,  the  King  wrote  with  his  own  hand,  applauding 
much  that  was  contained  in  the  recent  decisions  of  the 
assembly  of  bishops  and  doctors  of  divinity,  and  commanding 
the  Count  to  assist  in  the  execution  of  the  royal  determination. 
In  affairs  of  religion,  Philip  expressed  the  opinion  that  dissim- 
ulation and  weakness  were  entirely  out  of  place.f 

When  these  decisive  letters  came  before  the  state  council, 
the  consternation  was  extreme.  The  Duchess  had  counted, 
in  spite  of  her  inmost  convictions,  upon  less  peremptory 
instructions.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  the  Count  of  Egmont, 
and  the  Admiral,  were  loud  in  their  denunciations  of  the 
royal  policy.  There  was  a  violent  and  protracted  debate. 
The  excitement  spread  at  once  to  the  people.  Inflammatory 
hand-bills  were  circulated.  Placards  were  posted  every  night 
upon  the  doors  of  Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn,  calling  upon 
them  to  come  forth  boldly  as  champions  of  the  people  and  of 
liberty  in  religious  matters.  J  Banquets  were  held  daily  at 
the  houses  of  the  nobility,  in  which  the  more  ardent  and 
youthful  of  their  order,  with  brains  excited  by  wine  and  anger, 
indulged  in  flaming  invectives  against  the  government,  and 
interchanged  vows  to  protect  each  other  and  the  cause  of  the 
oppressed  provinces.  Meanwhile  the  privy  council,  to  which 
body  the  Duchess  had  referred  the  recent  despatches  from 
Madrid,  made  a  report  upon  the  whole  subject  to  the  state 
council,  during  the  month  of  November,  sustaining  the  royal 
views,  and  insisting  upon  the  necessity  of  carrying  them  into 
effect.  The  edicts  and  inquisition  having  been  so  vigorously 
insisted  upon  by  the  King,  nothing  was  to  be  done  but  to 
issue  new  proclamations  throughout  the  country,  together 
with  orders  to  bishops,  councils,  governors  and  judges,  that 
every  care  should  be  taken  to  enforce  them  to  the  full.§ 

Tins  report  came  before  the  state  council,  and  was  sustained 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  369-373.  f  Ibid.,  i.  375. 

X  Hoofd,  ii.  66.  §  Hopper,  58,  59. 


480  THE   KISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   KEPUBLIC.  [1565. 

by  some  of  its  members.  The  Prince  of  Orange  expressed 
the  same  uncompromising  hostility  to  the  inquisition  which  he 
had  always  manifested,  but  observed  that  the  commands  of 
the  King  were  so  precise  and  absolute,  as  to  leave  no  possibility 
of  discussing  that  point.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done,  he 
said,  but  to  obey,  but  he  washed  his  hands  of  the  fatal  conse- 
quences which  he  foresaw.*  There  was  no  longer  any  middle 
course  between  obedience  and  rebellion.  This  opinion,  the 
soundness  of  which  could  scarcely  be  disputed,  was  also  sus- 
tained by  Egmont  and  Horn. 

Viglius,  on  the  contrary,  nervous,  agitated,  appalled,  was 
now  disposed  to  temporize.  He  observed  that  if  the  seigniors 
feared  such  evil  results,  it  would  be  better  to  prevent,  rather 
than  to  accelerate  the  danger  which  would  follow  the  proposed 
notification  to  the  governors  and  municipal  authorities 
throughout  the  country,  on  the  subject  of  the  inquisition.  To 
make  haste,  was  neither  to  fulfil  the  intentions  nor  to  serve  the 
interests  of  the  King,  and  it  was  desirable  "  to  avoid  emotion 
and  scandal."  Upon  these  heads  the  President  made  a  very 
long  speech,  avowing,  in  conclusion,  that  if  his  Majesty  should 
not  find  the  course  proposed  agreeable,  he  was  ready  to  re- 
ceive all  the  indignation  upon  his  own  head.f 

Certainly,  this  position  of  the  President  was  somewhat  in- 
consistent with  his  previous  course.  He  had  been  most  vio- 
lent in  his  denunciations  of  all  who  should  interfere  with  the 
execution  of  the  great  edict  of  which  he  had  been  the  original 
draughtsman.  He  had  recently  been  ferocious  in  combating 
the  opinion  of  those  civilians  in  the  assembly  of  doctors  who 
had  advocated  the  abolition  of  the  death  penalty  against 
heresy.  He  had  expressed  with  great  energy  his  private 
opinion  that  the  ancient  religion  would  perish  if  the  machinery 
of  persecution  were  taken  away ;  yet  he  now  for  the  first 
time  seemed  to  hear  or  to  heed  the  outcry  of  a  whole  nation, 
and  to  tremble  at  the  sound.  Now  that  the  die  had  been 
cast,  in  accordance    with  the   counsels    of   his  whole  life, — 

*  Hopper,  59.  f  Ibid.,  59,  60. 


1565.]  PROLOGUE   TO   THE    TRAGEDY.  481 

now  that  the  royal  commands,  often  enigmatical  and  hesi- 
tating, were  at  last  too  distinct  to  be  misconstrued,  and  too 
peremptory  to  be  tampered  with — the  president  imagined  the 
possibility  of  delay.  The  health  of  the  ancient  Frisian  had  but 
recently  permitted  him  to  resume  his  seat  at  the  council  board. 
His  presence  there  was  but  temporary,  for  he  had  received  from 
Madrid  the  acceptance  of  his  resignation,  accompanied  with 
orders  to  discharge  the  duties  of  President*  until  the  arrival 
of  his  successor,  Charles  de  Tisnacq.  Thus,  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, the  Duchess  was  still  obliged  to  rely  for  a  season 
"  upon  her  ancient  Palinurus,"f  a  necessity  far  from  agreeable 
to  her,  for  she  had  lost  confidence  in  the  pilot.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  he  was  anxious  to  smooth  the  troubled  waters 
during  the  brief  period  in  which  he  was  still  to  be  exposed  to 
their  fury ;  but  he  poured  out  the  oil  of  his  eloquence  in  vain. 
Nobody  sustained  his  propositions.  The  Duchess,  although 
terrified  at  the  probable  consequences,  felt  the  impossibility  of 
disobeying  the  deliberate  decree  of  her  brother.  A  proclama- 
tion was  accordingly  prepared,  by  which  it  was  ordered  that 
the  Council  of  Trent,  the  edicts  and  the  inquisition,  should  be 
published  in  every  town  and  village  in  the  provinces,  imme- 
diately, and  once  in  six  months  forever  afterwards.J  The  deed 
was  done,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  stooping  to  the  ear  of  his 
next  neighbor,  as  they  sat  at  the  council-board,  whispered 
that  they  were  now  about  to  witness  the  commencement  of 
the  most  extraordinary  tragedy  which  had  ever  been  enacted.§ 
The  prophecy  was  indeed  a  proof  that  the  Prince  could  read 
the  future,  but  the  sarcasm  of  the  President,  that  the  remark 
had  been  made  in  a  tone  of  exultation,[|  was  belied  by  every 
action  of  the  prophet's  life. 

The  fiat  went  forth.  In  the  market-place  of  every  town 
and  village  of  the  Netherlands,  the  inquisition  was  again  for- 
mally proclaimed.     Every  doubt  which  had  hitherto  existed 


°  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  442.     Vit.  Viglii,  45. 
f  Vit.  Viglii,  45.  %  Bor,  i.  32,  33.     Meteren,  ii.  ST. 

§  "  Visuros  nos  brevi  egregias  tragcedite  initium." — Vit.  Viglii,  45. 
5  "  Quasi  laetus,  gloriabundusque." — Ibid. 
VOL.   I.  31 


482  THE    RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

as  to  the  intention  of  the  government  was  swept  away.  No 
argument  was  thenceforward  to  he  permissible  as  to  the  consti- 
tutionality of  the  edicts — as  to  the  compatibility  of  their  pro- 
visions with  the  privileges  of  the  land.  The  cry  of  a  people  in 
its  agony  ascended  to  Heaven.  The  decree  was  answered  with 
a  howl  of  execration.  The  flames  of  popular  frenzy*  arose 
lurid  and  threatening  above  the  house-tops  of  every  town  and 
village.  The  impending  conflict  could  no  longer  be  mistaken. 
The  awful  tragedy  which  the  great  watchman  in  the  land  had 
so  long  unceasingly  predicted,  was  seen  sweeping  solemnly  and 
steadily  onward.  The  superstitious  eyes  of  the  age  saw  super- 
natural and  ominous  indications  in  the  sky.  Contending 
armies  trampled  the  clouds  ;  blood  dropped  from  heaven ; 
the  exterminating  angel  rode  upon  the  wind. 

There  was  almost  a  cessation  of  the  ordinary  business  of 
mankind.  Commerce  was  paralyzed.  Antwerp  shook  as  with 
an  earthquake.  A  chasm  seemed  to  open,  in  which  her  pros- 
perity and  her  very  existence  were  to  be  forever  engulfed. 
The  foreign  merchants,  manufacturers,  and  artisans  fled  from 
her  gates  as  if  the  plague  were  raging  within  them.  Thriv- 
ing cities  were  likely  soon  to  be  depopulated.  The  metropol- 
itan heart  of  the  whole  country  was  almost  motionless.f 

Men  high  in  authority  sympathized  with  the  general  indig- 
nation. The  Marquis  Berghen,  the  younger  Mansfeld,  the 
Baron  Montigny,  openly  refused  to  enforce  the  edicts  within 
their  governments.  Men  of  eminence  inveighed  boldly  and 
bitterly  against  the  tyranny  of  the  government,  and  counselled 
disobedience.  The  Netherlander,  it  was  stoutly  maintained, 
were  not  such  senseless  brutes  as  to  be  ignorant  of  the  mutual 
relation  of  prince  and  people.  They  knew  that  the  obligation 
of  a  king  to  his  vassals  was  as  sacred  as  the  duties  of  the  sub- 
jects to  the  sovereign.^ 

The  four  principal  cities  of  Brabant  first  came  forward  in 


°  "  Depuis  icelles  pubises  par  lettres  de  S.  A.  aux  evesques,  consaulx  et 
bonnes  villes,  c'est  chose  incroyable  quelles  flammes  jecta  le  feu,  d'auparavant 
cache  soulz  les  cendres,"  etc.,  etc. — Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem.,  62. 

f  Hoofd,  ii.  68.     Bor.  i.  34,  35.  %  Hopper,  62. 


1565.]  BRABANTINE    DETERMINATION".  483 

formal  denunciation  of  the  outrage.  An  elaborate  and  con- 
clusive document  was  drawn  up  in  their  name,  and  presented 
to  the  Kegent.*  It  set  forth  that  the  recent  proclama- 
tion  violated  many  articles  in  the  "joyous  entry."  That 
ancient  constitution  had  circumscribed  the  power  of  the  clergy, 
and  the  jealousy  had  been  felt  in  old  times  as  much  by 
the  sovereign  as  the  people.  No  ecclesiastical  tribunal  had 
therefore  been  allowed,  excepting  that  of  the  Bishop  of  Cam- 
bray,  whose  jurisdiction  was  expressly  confined  to  three  classes 
of  cases — those  growing  out  of  marriages,  testaments,  and 
mortmains. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  discuss  the  point  at  the  present 
day,  whether  the  directions  to  the  inquisitors  and  the  publi- 
cation of  the  edicts  conflicted  with  the  "joyous  entrance." 
To  take  a  man  from  his  house  and  burn  him,  after  a  brief  pre- 
liminary examination,  was  clearly  not  to  follow  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  Brabantine  habeas  corpus,  by  winch  in- 
violability of  domicile  and  regular  trials  were  secured  and 
sworn  to  by  the  monarch  ;  yet  such  had  been  the  uniform 
practice  of  inquisitors  throughout  the  country.  The  petition 
of  the  four  cities  was  referred  by  the  Kegent  to  the  council 
of  Brabant.  The  chancellor,  or  president  judge  of  that 
tribunal,  was  notoriously  corrupt — a  creature  of  the  Spanish 
government.  His  efforts  to  sustain  the  policy  of  the  adminis- 
tration were,  however,  vain.  The  Duchess  ordered  the  ar- 
chives of  the  province  to  be  searched  for  precedents,  and  the 
council  to  report  upon  the  petition.f  The  case  was  too  plain 
for  argument  or  dogmatism,  but  the  attempt  was  made  to 
take  refuge  in  obscurity.  The  answer  of  the  council  was 
hesitating  and  equivocal.^  The  Duchess  insisted  upon  a 
distinct  and  categorical  answer  to  the  four  cities.  Thus 
pressed,  the   council   of  Brabant  declared   roundly  that   no 


*  Hopper,  63,  sqq.  Bor,  i.  35.  Meteren,  ii.  37.  Hoofd,  ii.  68,  69.  Supple- 
ment a  l'Hist.  des  Guerres  Civiles  du  Pere  F.  Strada,  par  Foppens  (Amst.,  1729\ 
vol.  ii.  291,  292.    Letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma. 

f  Strada,  v.  168.      Hoofd,  ii.  69.     Hopper,  ubi  sup. 

\  Bor,  L  39,  40.    Hoofd.    Hopper,  ubi  sup. 


484  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

inquisition  of  any  kind  had  ever  existed  in  the  provinces. * 
It  was  impossible  that  any  other  answer  could  be  given, 
but  Viglius,  with  his  associates  in  the  privy  council,  were 
extremely  angry  at  the  conclusion.f  The  concession  was, 
however,  made,  notwithstanding  the  bad  example  which, 
according  to  some  persons,  the  victory  thus  obtained  by  so 
important  a  province  would  afford  to  the  people  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Brabant  was  declared  free  of  the  in- 
quisition.J  Meanwhile  the  pamphlets,  handbills,  pasquils,  and 
other  popular  productions  were  multiplied.  To  use  a  Flemish 
expression,  they  "  snowed  in  the  streets."  They  were  nailed 
nightly  on  all  the  great  houses  in  Brussels.§  Patriots  were 
called  upon  to  strike,  speak,  redress.  Pungent  lampoons, 
impassioned  invectives,  and  earnest  remonstrances,  were  thrust 
into  the  hands  of  the  Duchess.  The  publications,  as  they  ap- 
peared, were  greedily  devoured  by  the  people.  "  We  are 
willing,"  it  was  said,  in  a  remarkable  letter  to  the  King,  "  to 
die  for  the  Gospel,  but  we  read  therein  '  Eender  unto  Caesar 
that  which  is  Cassar's,  and  unto  God  that  which  is  God's/ 
"We  thank  God  that  our  enemies  themselves  are  compelled  to 
bear  witness  to  our  piety  and  patience  ;  so  that  it  is  a  common 
saying — '  He  swears  not,  he  is  a  Protestant ;  he  is  neither  a 
fornicator  nor  a  drunkard  ;  he  is  of  the  new  sect.'  Yet,  not- 
withstanding these  testimonials  to  our  character,  no  manner  of 
punishment  has  been  forgotten  by  which  we  can  possibly  be 
chastised."||  This  statement  of  the  morality  of  the  Puritans  of 
the  Netherlands  was  the  justification  of  martyrs — not  the  self- 
glorification  of  Pharisees.  The  fact  was  incontrovertible.  Their 
tenets  were  rigid,  but  their  lives  were  pure.  They  belonged 
generally  to  the  middling  and  lower  classes.  They  were  in- 
dustrious artisans,  who  desired  to  live  in  the  fear  of  God  and 
in  honor  of  their  King.  They  were  protected  by  nobles  and 
gentlemen  of  high  position,  very  many  of  whom  came  after- 
wards warmly  to  espouse  the  creed  which  at  first  they  had 


*  Hopper,  64.     Bor.     Hoofd,  ubi  sup.  f  Hopper,  ubi  sup. 

t  Hopper,  65.  §  Bor,  ii.  53.     Hoofd,  ii.  70,  71.  j  Bor,  L  43-50. 


1565.]  MARRIAGE  FEASTS,  485 

only  generously  defended.  Their  whole  character  and  position 
resembled,  in  many  features,  those  of  the  English  Puritans, 
who,  three  quarters  of  a  century  afterwards,  fled  for  refuge  to 
the  Dutch  Republic,  and  thence  departed  to  establish  the 
American  Republic.  The  difference  was  that  the  Netherland- 
ers  were  exposed  to  a  longer  persecution  and  a  far  more  intense 
martyrdom. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  (1565)  which  was  closing  in 
such  universal  gloom,  the  contemporary  chronicles  are  en- 
livened with  a  fitful  gleam  of  sunshine.  The  light  enlivens 
only  the  more  elevated  regions  of  the  Flemish  world,  but  it  is 
pathetic  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  those  nobles,  many  of  whose 
lives  were  to  be  so  heroic,  and  whose  destinies  so  tragic,  as 
amid  the  shadows  projected  by  coming  evil  they  still  found 
time  for  the  chivalrous  festivals  of  their  land  and  epoch.  A 
splendid  tournament  was  held  at  the  Chateau  d'Antoing  to 
celebrate  the  nuptials  of  Baron  Montigny  with  the  daughter 
of  Prince  d'Espinoy.  Orange,  Horn,  and  Hoogstraaten  were 
the  challengers,  and  maintained  themselves  victoriously  against 
all  comers,  Egmont  and  other  distinguished  knights  being 
among  the  number.* 

Thus  brilliantly  and  gaily  moved  the  first  hours  of  that 
marriage  which  before  six  months  had  fled  was  to  be  so  darkly 
terminated.  The  doom  which  awaited  the  chivalrous  bride- 
groom in  the  dungeon  of  Simancas  was  ere  long  to  be  recorded 
in  one  of  the  foulest  chapters  of  Philip's  tyranny. 

A  still  more  elaborate  marriage-festival,  of  which  the  hero 
was,  at  a  later  day,  to  exercise  a  most  decisive  influence  over 
the  fortunes  of  the  land,  was  celebrated  at  Brussels  before  the 
close  of  the  year.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Alexander, 
Prince  of  Parma,  had  accompanied  Egmont  on  his  return  from 
Spain  in  the  month  of  April.  The  Duchess  had  been  de- 
lighted with  the  appearance  of  her  son,  then  twenty  years  of 
age,  but  already  an  accomplished  cavalier.  She  had  expressed 
her  especial  pleasure  in  finding  him  so  thoroughly  a  Spaniard 


*  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  421.     Pasq.  de  la  Barre  MS. 


486  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

"  in  manner,  costume,  and  conversation/'  that  it  could  not  be 
supposed  he  had  ever  visited  any  other  land,  or  spoken  any 
other  tongue  than  that  of  Spain.* 

The  nobles  of  the  Flemish  court  did  not  participate  in 
the  mother's  enthusiasm.  It  could  not  be  denied  that  he 
was  a  handsome  and  gallant  young  prince  ;  but  his  arro- 
gance was  so  intolerable  as  to  disgust  even  those  most  dis- 
posed to  pay  homage  to  Margaret's  son.  He  kept  himself 
mainly  in  haughty  retirement,  dined  habitually  alone  in  his 
own  apartments,  and  scarcely  honored  any  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Netherlands  with  his  notice.f  Even  Egmont,  to 
whose  care  he  had  been  especially  recommended  by  Philip,  was 
slighted.  If,  occasionally,  he  honored  one  or  two  of  the  seig- 
niors with  an  invitation  to  his  table,  he  sat  alone  in  solemn 
state  at  the  head  of  the  board,  while  the  guests,  to  whom  he 
scarcely  vouchsafed  a  syllable,  were  placed  on  stools  without 
backs,  below  the  salt.J  Such  insolence,  it  may  be  supposed, 
was  sufficiently  galling  to  men  of  the  proud  character,  but 
somewhat  reckless  demeanor,  which  distinguished  the  Nether- 
land  aristocracy.  After  a  short  time  they  held  themselves 
aloof,  thinking  it  sufficient  to  endure  such  airs  from  Philip. 
The  Duchess  at  first  encouraged  the  young  Prince  in  his 
haughtiness,  but  soon  became  sad,  as  she  witnessed  its  effects. 
It  was  the  universal  opinion  that  the  young  Prince  was  a  mere 
compound  of  pride  and  emptiness.  "  There  is  nothing  at  all 
in  the  man,"§  said  Chantonnay.  Certainly  the  expression  was 
not  a  fortunate  one.  Time  was  to  show  that  there  was  more 
in  the  man  than  in  all  the  governors  despatched  successively 
by  Philip  to  the  Netherlands  ;  but  the  proof  was  to  be  deferred 
to  a  later  epoch.  Meantime,  his  mother  was  occupied  and 
exceedingly  perplexed  with  his  approaching  nuptials.  He  had 
been  affianced  early  in  the  year  to  the  Princess  Donna  Maria 
of  Portugal.     It  was   found   necessary,   therefore,  to   send  a 


*  Correspondance  de  Phil.  II.,  i.  354  t  Papiers  d'Etat,  Ls.  224. 

X  Ibid. — "  Au  bas  boult  de  la  table  sur  scabeaux." 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  i.  394. — "  Certes  jusques  a.  maintenant  nihil 
est  in  homine  je  ne  s^ay  que  ce  sera  avec  le  temps." 


1565.]  A    MODEL   PKINCESS.  487 

fleet  of  several  vessels  to  Lisbon,  to  fetch  the  bride  to  the 
Netherlands,*  the  wedding  being  appointed  to  take  place  in 
Brussels.  This  expense  alone  was  considerable,  and  the  prep- 
arations for  banquets,  jousts,  and  other  festivities,  were  like- 
wise undertaken  on  so  magnificent  a  scale  that  the  Duke,  her 
husband,  was  offended  at  Margaret's  extravagance.f  The 
people,  by  whom  she  was  not  beloved,!  commented  bitterly 
on  the  prodigalities  which  they  were  witnessing  in  a  period  of 
dearth  and  trouble.§  Many  of  the  nobles  mocked  at  her  per- 
plexity. To  crown  the  whole,  the  young  Prince  was  so  oblig- 
ing as  to  express  the  hope,  in  his  mother's  hearing,  that  the 
bridal  fleet,  then  on  its  way  from  Portugal,  might  sink  with 
all  it  contained,  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.jj 

The  poor  Duchess  was  infinitely  chagrined  by  all  these  cir- 
cumstances. The  "insane  and  outrageous  expenses"^"  in  which 
the  nuptials  had  involved  her,  the  rebukes  of  her  husband,  the 
sneers  of  the  seigniors,  the  undutiful  epigrams  of  her  son,  the 
ridicule  of  the  people,  affected  her  spirits  to  such  a  degree, 
harassed  as  she  was  with  grave  matters  of  state,  that  she 
kept  her  rooms  for  days  together,  weeping,  hour  after  hour,  in 
the  most  piteous  manner.  Her  distress  was  the  town  talk  ;** 
nevertheless,  the  fleet  arrived  in  the  autumn,  and  brought 
the  youthful  Maria  to  the  provinces.  This  young  lady,  if  the 
faithful  historiographer  of  the  Farnese  house  is  to  be  credited, 
was  the  paragon  of  princesses.f  f  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Prince  Edward,  and  granddaughter  of  John  the  Third.  She 
was  young  and  beautiful ;  she  could  talk  both  Latin  and 
Greek,  besides  being  well  versed  in  philosophy,  mathematics 
and  theology. JJ  She  had  the  scriptures  at  her  tongue's  end, 
both  the  old  dispensation  and  the  new,  and  could  quote  from 


*  Papiers  d'Etat,  ix.  218.  f  Ibid.,  385,  386,  601. 

X  Archives  et  Correspondance,  i.  425.  §  Ibid.,  ix.  601. 

J  Ibid.,  ix.  386. — "Le  jeune  homme  sciente  matre  diet  qu'il  vouldroit  que  tout 
ce  que  vad  et  reviendra  demeurast  au  fond  de  la  mer." 

^f  "  La  folle  et  oultrageuse  depense  des  nopces,"  etc. — Papiers  d'Etat,  is.  601. 

**  "  Que  Ton  s?ait  a  parler  par  toute  la  ville  de  ceste  plorerie." — Ibid. 

ft  Strada,  iv.  157-162. 

XX  Ibid. — "  Prsedicabaturque  una  ingenio  omnia  comprehendere :  Latina  lingua 


488  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1565. 

the  fathers  with  the  promptness  of  a  bishop.  She  was  so 
strictly  orthodox  that,  on  being  compelled  by  stress  of  weather 
to  land  in  England,  she  declined  all  communication  with 
Queen  Elizabeth,  on  account  of  her  heresy.  She  was  so  emi- 
nently chaste  that  she  could  neither  read  the  sonnets  of 
Petrarch,  nor  lean  on  the  arm  of  a  gentleman.*  Her  delicacy 
upon  such  points  was,  indeed,  carried  to  such  excess,  that  upon 
one  occasion  when  the  ship  which  was  bringing  her  to  the 
Netherlands  was  discovered  to  be  burning,  she  rebuked  a  rude 
fellow  who  came  forward  to  save  her  life,  assuring  him  that 
there  was  less  contamination  in  the  touch  of  fire  than  in  that 
of  man.f  Fortunately,  the  flames  were  extinguished,  and  the 
Phoenix  of  Portugal  was  permitted  to  descend,  unburned, 
upon  the  bleak  shores  of  Flanders. 

The  occasion,  notwithstanding  the  recent  tears  of  the 
Duchess,  and  the  arrogance  of  the  Prince,  was  the  signal  for 
much  festivity  among  the  courtiers  of  Brussels.  It  was  also 
the  epoch  from  which  movements  of  a  secret  and  important 
character  were  to  be  dated.  The  chevaliers  of  the  Fleece  were 
assembled,  and  Viglius  pronounced  before  them  one  of  his 
most  classical  orations.  He  had  a  good  deal  to  say  concern- 
ing the  private  adventures  of  Saint  Andrew,  patron  of  the 
Order,  and  went  into  some  details  of  a  conversation  which 
that  venerated  personage  had  once  held  with  the  proconsul 
iEgeas.J  The  moral  which  he  deduced  from  his  narrative 
was  the  necessity  of  union  among  the  magnates  for  the  main- 


expedito  ac  perbene  loqui :  Graecas  litteras  proxime  callere :  philosophiam  no» 
ignorare:  Mathematicorum  disciplinas  apprime  nosse:  divina  utriusque  Testa- 
menti  oracula  in  promptu  habere." 

This  princess,  in  her  teens,  might  already  exclaim,  with  the  venerable  Faustus: 
"  Habe  nun  Philosophie 
Juristerei  und  Medicin 
Und  leider  ach :  Theologie 

Durch  studirt  mit  heissem  Bemuhen,"  etc. 
The  panegyrists  of  royal  houses  in  the  sixteenth  century  were  not  accustomed 
to  do  their  work  by  halves.  *  Ibid. 

f  "■ Tu  vero,  inquit,  manum  actutum  abstine;  quasi  non  minus  ab  hujus, 

quam  a  flammarum  tactu  timeret  sibi,"  etc. — Ibid.  \  Yit.  Vigbi.  44. 


1565.]  parma's  nuptials.  489 

tenance  of  the  Catholic  faith  ;  the  nobility  and  the  Church 
being  the  two  columns  upon  which  the  whole  social  fabric 
reposed.*  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  President  became  rather 
prosy  upon  the  occasion.  Perhaps  his  homily,  like  those  of 
the  fictitious  Archbishop  of  Granada,  began  to  smack  of  the 
apoplexy  from  which  he  had  so  recently  escaped.  Perhaps, 
the  meeting  being  one  of  hilarity,  the  younger  nobles  became 
restive  under  the  infliction  of  a  very  long  and  very  solemn 
harangue.  At  any  rate,  as  the  meeting  broke  up,  there  was 
a  good  deal  of  jesting  on  the  subject.  De  Hammes,  commonly 
called  "  Toison  d'Or,"  councillor  and  king-at-arms  of  the  Order, 
said  that  the  President  had  been  seeing  visions  and  talking 
with  Saint  Andrew  in  a  dream.  Marquis  Berghen  asked  for 
the  source  whence  he  had  derived  such  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  ideas  of  the  Saint.  The  President  took  these  remarks 
rather  testily,  and,  from  trifling,  the  company  became  soon 
earnestly  engaged  in  a  warm  discussion  of  the  agitating  topics 
of  the  day.  It  soon  became  evident  to  Viglius  that  De  Ham- 
mes and  others  cf  his  comrades  had  been  dealing  with  danger- 
ous  things.  He  began  shrewdly  to  suspect  that  the  popular 
heresy  was  rapidly  extending  into  higher  regions  ;  but  it  was 
not  the  President  alone  who  discovered  how  widely  the  con- 
tamination was  spreading.  The  meeting,  the  accidental  small 
talk,  which  had  passed  so  swiftly  from  gaiety  to  gravity,  the 
rapid  exchange  of  ideas,  and  the  free-masonry  by  which  in- 
telligence upon  forbidden  topics  had  been  mutually  conveyed, 
became  events  of  historical  importance.  Interviews  between 
nobles,  who,  in  the  course  of  the  festivities  produced  by  the 
Montigny  and  Parma  marriages,  had  discovered  that  they  en- 
tertained a  secret  similarity  of  sentiment  upon  vital  questions, 
became  of  frequent  occurrence.f  The  result  to  which  such 
conferences  led  will  be  narrated  in  the  following  chapter. 

Meantime,  upon  the  11th  November,  1565,  the  marriage  of 
Prince  Alexander  and  Donna  Maria  was  celebrated,  with  great 
solemnity,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  in  the  chapel  of 


*  Yit.  Viglii,  44  f  Bor,  ii.  53.     Hoofd,  ii.  70,  71. 


490  THE  EISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    KEPUBLIC.  [1565, 

the  court  at  Brussels.  On  the  following  Sunday  the  wed- 
ding banquet  was  held  in  the  great  hall,  where,  ten  years  pre- 
viously, the  memorable  abdication  of  the  bridegroom's  imperial 
grandfather  had  taken  place. 

The  walls  were  again  hung  with  the  magnificent  tapestry  of 
Gideon,  while  the  Knights  of  the  Fleece,  with  all  the  other  gran- 
dees of  the  land,  were  assembled  to  grace  the  spectacle.*  The 
King  was  represented  by  his  envoy  in  England,  Don  Guzman 
de  Silva,  who  came  to  Brussels  for  the  occasion,  and  who  had 
been  selected  for  this  duty  because,  according  to  Armenteros, 
"  he  was  endowed,  beside  his  prudence,  with  so  much  witty 
gracefulness  with  ladies  in  matters  of  pastime  and  entertain- 
ment."! Early  in  the  month  of  December,  a  famous  tournament 
was  held  in  the  great  market-place  of  Brussels,  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  and  Count  Egraont  being  judges 
of  the  jousts.  Count  Mansfeld  was  the  challenger,  assisted  by 
his  son  Charles,  celebrated  among  the  gentry  of  the  land  for 
Ins  dexterity  in  such  sports.  To  Count  Charles  was  awarded 
upon  this  occasion  the  silver  cup  from  the  lady  of  the 
lists.  Count  Bossu  received  the  prize  for  breaking  best  his 
lances  ;  the  Seigneur  de  Beauvoir  for  the  most  splendid 
entrance  ;  Count  Louis,  of  Nassau,  for  having  borne  himself 
most  gallantly  in  the  melee.  On  the  same  evening  the 
nobles,  together  with  the  bridal  pair,  were  entertained  at  a 
splendid  supper,  given  by  the  city  of  Brussels  in  the  magnifi- 
cent Hotel  de  Ville.  On  this  occasion  the  prizes  gained  at 
the  tournament  were  distributed,  amid  the  applause  and  hilar- 
ity of  all  the  revellers.^ 

Thus,  with  banquet,  tourney,  and  merry  marriage  bells,  with 
gaiety  gilding  the  surface  of  society,  while  a  deadly  hatred  to 
the  inquisition  was  eating  into  the  heart  of  the  nation,  and 
while  the  fires  of  civil  war  were  already  kindling,  of  which  no 
living  man  was  destined  to  witness  the  extinction,  ended  the 
year  1565. 

*  De  la  Barre  MS.,  51. 

+  "Tiene  tambien  gracia  y  donaire  con  las  damas  en  las  cosas  de  passatiempo 
y  entretenimiento." — Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  365,  366. 
J  De  la  Barre  MS. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Francis  Junius — His  sermon  at  Culemburg  House — The  Compromise — Portraits 
of  Sainte  Aldegonde,  of  Louis  Nassau,  of  "Toison  d'Or,"  of  Charles  Mans- 
feld — Sketch  of  the  Compromise — Attitude  of  Orange — His  letter  to  tho 
Duchess — Signers  of  the  Compromise — Indiscretion  of  the  confederates — ■ 
Espionage  over  Philip  by  Orange — Dissatisfaction  of  the  seigniors — Con- 
duct of  Egmont — Despair  of  the  people — Emigration  to  England — Its 
effects — The  request — Meeting  at  Breda  and  Hoogstraaten — Exaggerated 
statements  concerning  the  Request  in  the  state  council — Hesitation  of  the 
Duchess — Assembly  of  notables — Debate  concerning  the  Request  and  the 
inquisition — Character  of  Brederodc — Arrival  of  the  petitioners  in  Brussels 
— Presentation  of  the  Request — Emotion  of  Margaret — Speech  of  Brede- 
rode — Sketch  of  the  Request — Memorable  sarcasm  of  Berlaymont — Delibera- 
tion in  the  state  council — Apostille  to  the  Request — Answer  to  the 
Apostille — Reply  of  the  Duchess — Speech  of  D'Esquerdes — Response  of 
Margaret — Memorable  banquet  at  Culemburg  House — Name  of  "  the  beg- 
gars" adopted — Orange,  Egmont,  and  Horn  break  up  the  riotous  meeting 
— Costume  of  "the  beggars" — Brederode  at  Antwerp — Horrible  execution 
at  Oudenarde — Similar  cruelties  throughout  the  provinces — Project  of 
"Moderation" — Religious  views  of  Orange — His  resignation  of  all  his 
offices  not  accepted — The  "Moderation"  characterized — Egmont  at  Arras 
— Debate  on  the  "  Moderation" — Vacillation  of  Egmont — Mission  of  Mon- 
tigny  and  Berghen  to  Spain — Instructions  to  the  envoys — Secret  corre- 
spondence of  Philip  with  the  Pope  concerning  the  Netherland  inquisition 
and  the  edicts — Field-preaching  in  the  provinces — Modet  at  Ghent — Other 
preachers  characterized  —  Excitement  at  Tournay  —  Peter  Gabriel  at 
Harlem — Field-preaching  near  Antwerp — Embarrassment  of  the  Regent — . 
Excitement  at  Antwerp — Pensionary  "Wesenbeck  sent  to  Brussels — Orange 
at  Antwerp — His  patriotic  course — Misrepresentation  of  the  Duchess — 
Intemperate  zeal  of  Dr.  Rythovius — Meeting  at  St.  Trond — Conferenco 
at  Duffel — Louis  of  Nassau  deputed  to  the  Regent — Unsatisfactory  nego- 
tiations. 

The  most  remarkable  occurrence  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year 
1556  was  the  famous  Compromise.  This  document,  by  which 
the  signers  pledged  themselves  to  oppose  the  inquisition,  and 
to  defend  each  other  against  all  consequences  of  such  a  resist- 


492  THE   EISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1566. 

ance,  was  probably  the  work  of  Philip  de  Marnix,  Lord  of 
Sainte  Aldegonde.  Much  obscurity,  however,  rests  upon  the 
origin  of  this  league.  Its  foundations  had  already  been  laid  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  preceding  year.  The  nuptials  of  Parma 
with  the  Portuguese  princess  had  been  the  cause  of  much  fes- 
tivity, not  only  in  Brussels,  but  at  Antwerp.  The  great  com- 
mercial metropolis  had  celebrated  the  occasion  by  a  magnificent 
banquet.  There  had  been  triumphal  arches,  wreaths  of 
flowers,  loyal  speeches,  generous  sentiments,  in  the  usual  pro- 
fusion. The  chief  ornament  of  the  dinner-table  had  been  a 
magnificent  piece  of  confectionary,  setting  elaborately  forth 
the  mission  of  Count  Mansfeld  with  the  fleet  to  Portugal  to 
fetch  the  bride  from  her  home,  with  exquisitely  finished  figures 
in  sugar — portraits,  it  is  to  be  presumed — of  the  principal  per- 
sonages as  they  appeared  during  the  most  striking  scenes  of 
the  history.*  At  the  very  moment,  however,  of  these  delecta- 
tions, a  meeting  was  held  at  Brussels  of  men  whose  minds 
were  occupied  with  sterner  stuff  than  sugar-work.  On  the 
wedding-day  of  Parma,  Francis  Junius,  a  dissenting  minister 
then  residing  at  Antwerp,  was  invited  to  Brussels  to  preach  a 
sermon  in  the  house  of  Count  Culemburg,  on  the  horse-market 
(now  called  Little  Sablon),  before  a  small  assembly  of  some 
twenty  gentlemen.f 

This  Francis  Junius,  born  of  a  noble  family  in  Bourges,  was 
the  pastor  of  the  secret  French  congregation  of  Huguenots  at 
Antwerp.  He  was  very  young,  having  arrived  from  Geneva, 
where  he  had  been  educated,  to  take  charge  of  the  secret 
church,  when  but  just  turned  of  twenty  years.  J  He  was, 
however,  already  celebrated  for  his  learning,  his  eloquence,  and 
his  courage.  Towards  the  end  of  1565,  it  had  already  become 
known  that  Junius  was  in  secret  understanding  with  Louis  of 
Nassau,  to  prepare  an  address  to  government  on  the  subject 
of  the  inquisition  and  edicts.     Orders  were  given  for  his  arrest. 


*  Meteren.  ii.  36. 

\  Brant,  i.  289,  sqq.     Ex  vita  F.  Juaii  ab  ipso  conscripta,  f.  15,  apud  Brandt. 

\  Vit.  Junii,  14,  15,  16. 


1566.]  THE   FIRST   LEAGUERS.  493 

A  certain  painter  of  Brussels  affected  conversion  to  the  new 
religion,  that  he  might  gain  admission  to  the  congregation, 
and  afterwards  earn  the  reward  of  the  informer.  He  played 
his  part  so  well  that  he  was  permitted  to  attend  many  meet- 
ings, in  the  course  of  which  he  sketched  the  portrait  of  the 
preacher,  and  delivered  it  to  the  Duchess  Regent,  together 
with  minute  statements  as  to  his  residence  and  daily  habits. 
Nevertheless,  with  all  this  assistance,  the  government  could 
not  succeed  in  laying  hands  on  him.  He  escaped  to  Breda, 
and  continued  his  labors  in  spite  of  persecution.  The  man's 
courage  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that  he  preached 
on  one  occasion  a  sermon,  advocating  the  doctrines  of  the 
reformed  Church  with  his  usual  eloquence,  in  a  room  over- 
looking the  market-place,  where,  at  the  very  instant,  the 
execution  by  fire  of  several  heretics  was  taking  place,  while 
the  light  from  the  flames  in  which  the  brethren  of  their  Faith 
were  burning,  was  flickering  through  the  glass  windows  of 
the  conventicle.*  Such  was  the  man  who  preached  a  sermon 
in  Culemburg  Palace  on  Parma's  wedding-day.  The  nobles 
who  listened  to  him  were  occupied  with  grave  discourse 
after  conclusion  of  the  religious  exercises.  Junius  took  no 
part  in  their  conversation,  but  in  his  presence  it  was  resolved 
that  a  league  against  the  "  barbarous  and  violent  inquisition" 
should  be  formed,  and  that  the  confederates  should  mutually 
bind  themselves  both  within  and  without  the  Netherlands 
to  this  great  purpose.f  Junius,  in  giving  this  explicit  state- 
ment, has  not  mentioned  the  names  of  the  nobles  before  whom 
he  preached.  It  may  be  inferred  that  some  of  them  were 
the  more  ardent  and  the  more  respectable  among  the  some- 
what miscellaneous  band  by  whom  the  Compromise  was 
afterwards  signed. 

At  about  the  same  epoch,  Louis  of  Nassau,  Nicolas  de 
Hammes,  and  certain  other  gentlemen  met  at  the  baths  of  Spa. 
At  this  secret  assembly,  the  foundations  of  the  Compromise 


*  Vit.  Junii,  f.  16,  apud  Brandt,  290. 
f  Vit.  Junii,  p.  15,  apud  Brandt,  289- 


494  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

were  definitely  laid.*  A  document  was  afterwards  drawn  up, 
which  was  circulated  for  signatures  in  the  early  part  of  1566. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  this  memorable 
paper  was  simultaneously  signed  and  sworn  to  at  any  solemn 
scene  like  that  of  the  declaration  of  American  Independence, 
or  like  some  of  the  subsequent  transactions  in  the  Netherland 
revolt,  arranged  purposely  for  dramatic  effect.  Several  copies 
of  the  Compromise  were  passed  secretly  from  hand  to  hand, 
and  in  the  course  of  two  months  some  two  thousand  signatures 
had  been  obtained.f  The  original  copy  bore  but  three  names, 
those  of  Brederode,  Charles  de  Mansfeld,  and  Louis  of  Nassau.* 
The  composition  of  the  paper  is  usually  ascribed  to  Sainte 
Aldegonde,  although  the  fact  is  not  indisputable.§  At  any 
rate,  it  is  very  certain  that  he  was  one  of  the  originators  and 
main  supporters  of  the  famous  league.  Sainte  Aldegonde  was 
one  of  the  most  accomplished  men  of  his  age.  He  was  of  an- 
cient nobility,  as  he  proved  by  an  abundance  of  historical  and 
heraldic  evidence,  in  answer  to  a  scurrilous  pamphlet  in  which 
he  had  been  accused,  among  other  delinquencies,  of  having 
sprung  from  plebeian  blood.  Having  established  his  "  extrac- 
tion from  true  and  ancient  gentlemen  of  Savoy,  paternally  and 
maternally,"  he  rebuked  his  assailants  in  manly  strain.  "Even 
had  it  been  that  I  was  without  nobility  of  birth,"  said  he, 
"  I  should  be  none  the  less  or  more  a  virtuous  or  honest 
man  ;  nor  can  any  one  reproach  me  with  having  failed  in  the 
point  of  honor  or  duty.  What  greater  folly  than  to  boast 
of  the  virtue  or  gallantry  of  others,  as  do  many  nobles  who, 

*  This  appears  from  the  sentence  pronounced  against  de  Ilammes  (Toisin 
d'Or)  by  the  Blood  Council  on  the  11th  May,  1568.  "  Charge  d'avoir  este  ung 
des  autheurs  de  la  seditieuse  et  pernicieuse  conjuration  et  ligue  des  confederez 
(qu'ils  appellent  Compromis)  et  dicelle  premierement  avoir  jecte  les  fondeniens  a 
la  fontaine  de  Spa,  avecq  le  Compte  Loys  de  Nassau  et  aultres  et  apres  environ 
le  mois  de  Decembre,  1565.  l'arreste  la  signe  et  jure  en  ceste  ville  de  Bruxelle 
en  sa  maison  et  a  icelle  attire  et  induict  plusieurs  aultres." — Registre  des  Con- 
damnes  et  Bannis  a  cause  des  Troubles  des  Pays  Bas  dep.  l'an  1568  a  1572. 
Chambre  des  Comptes,  iii.  MS.  in  the  Brussels  Archives. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  400. 

$  Archives  et  Correspondance,  ii.  2-7. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives  et  Correspondance,  ii.  13. 


1566.]  marnix,  495 

having  neither  a  grain  of  virtue  in  their  souls  nor  a  drop  of 
wisdom  in  their  brains,  are  entirely  useless  to  their  country  ! 
Yet  there  are  such  men,  who,  because  their  ancestors  have  done 
some  valorous  deed,  think  themselves  fit  to  direct  the  ma- 
chinery of  a  whole  country,  having  from  their  youth  learned 
nothing  but  to  dance  and  to  spin  like  weathercocks  with  their 
heads  as  well  as  their  heels."*  Certainly  Sainte  Aldegonde 
had  learned  other  lessons  than  these.  He  was  one  of  the 
many-sided  men  who  recalled  the  symmetry  of  antique 
patriots.  He  was  a  poet  of  much  vigor  and  imagination,  a 
prose  writer  whose  style  was  surpassed  by  that  of  none  of  his 
contemporaries,  a  diplomatist  in  whose  tact  and  delicacy 
William  of  Orange  afterwards  reposed  in  the  most  difficult 
and  important  negotiations,  an  orator  whose  discourses  on 
many  great  public  occasions  attracted  the  attention  of  Europe, 
a  soldier  whose  bravery  was  to  be  attested  afterwards  on  many 
a  well-fought  field,  a  theologian  so  skilful  in  the  polemics  of 
divinity,  that,  as  it  will  hereafter  appear,  he  was  more  than  a 
match  for  a  bench  of  bishops  upon  their  own  ground,  and  a 
scholar  so  accomplished,  that,  besides  speaking  and  writing  the 
classical  and  several  modern  languages  with  facility,  he-  had 
also  translated  for  popular  use  the  Psalms  of  David  into  ver- 
nacular verse,  and  at  a  very  late  period  of  his  life  was  requested 
by  the  states-general  of  the  republic  to  translate  all  the  Scrip- 
tures, a  work,  the  fulfilment  of  which  was  prevented  by  his 
death.f  A  passionate  foe  to  the  inquisition  and  to  all  the 
abuses  of  the  ancient  Church,  an  ardent  defender  of  civil 
liberty,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  partook  also  of  the  tyran- 
nical spirit  of  Calvinism.  He  never  rose  to  the  lofty  heights 
to  which  the  spirit  of  the  great  founder  of  the  commonwealth 
was  destined  to  soar,  but  denounced  the  great  principle  of 
religious  liberty  for  all  consciences  as  godless.  He  was  now 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  having  been  born  in  the  same  year 


*  Reponse  a  un  libelle  fameux  nagueres  publie  contre  Monseigneur  le  Pc8 
d'Oranges  et  intitule  Lettres  d'un  gentilhomme  vray  patriote,  etc. — Faicte  du 
Monsr.  de  Ste  Aldegonde.     Anvers:  chez  Giles  van  den  Rade,  1579. 

f  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  iiL  412,  413. 


496  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

with  his  friend  Louis  of  Nassau  His  device,  "  Bepos  ail- 
leurs,"*  finely  typified  the  restless,  agitated  and  laborious  life 
to  which  he  was  destined. 

That  other  distinguished  leader  of  the  newly-formed  league, 
Count  Louis,  was  a  true  knight  of  the  olden  time,  the  very 
mirror  of  chivalry.  Gentle,  generous,  pious  ;  making  use,  in 
his  tent  before  the  battle,  of  the  prayers  which  his  mother  sent 
him  from  the  home  of  his  childhood,f  yet  fiery  in  the  field  as 
an  ancient  crusader — doing  the  work  of  general  and  soldier 
with  desperate  valor  and  against  any  numbers — cheerful  and 
steadfast  under  all  reverses,  witty  and  jocund  in  social  inter- 
course, animating  with  his  unceasing  spirits  the  graver  and 
more  foreboding  soul  of  his  brother  ;  he  was  the  man  to  whom 
the  eyes  of  the  most  ardent  among  the  Netherland  Reformers 
were  turned  at  this  early  epoch,  the  trusty  staff  upon  which  the 
great  Prince  of  Orange  was  to  lean  till  it  was  broken.  As  gay 
as  Brederode,  he  was  unstained  by  his  vices,  and  exercised  a 
boundless  influence  over  that  reckless  personage,  who  often 
protested  that  he  would  "  die  a  poor  soldier  at  his  feet." %  The 
career  of  Louis  was  destined  to  be  short,  if  reckoned  by  years, 
but  if  by  events,  it  was  to  attain  almost  a  patriarchal  length. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  had  taken  part  in  the  battle  of  St. 
Quentin,  and  when  once  the  war  of  freedom  opened,  his  sword 
was  never  to  be  sheathed.  His  days  were  filled  with  life,  and 
when  he  fell  into  his  bloody  but  unknown  grave,  he  was  to 
leave  a  name  as  distinguished  for  heroic  valor  and  untiring 
energy  as  for  spotless  integrity.  He  was  small  of  stature,  but 
well  formed  ;  athletic  in  all  knightly  exercises,  with  agreeable 
features,  a  dark  laughing  eye,  close-clipped  brown  hair,  and  a 
peaked  beard. 

"  Golden  Fleece/'  as  Nicholas  de  Hammes  was  universally 
denominated,  was  the  illegitimate  scion  of  a  noble  house.§  He 
was  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  early  adherents  to  the  league, 
kept  the  lists  of  signers  in  his  possession,  and  scoured  the 

*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  iii.  412,  413. 

f  Ibid.,  ii.  260,  309.  \  Ibid.,  ii.  416. 

§  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,.  i.  399 ;  note  2. 


1566.]  COUNT   LOUIS  AND   GOLDEN-FLEECE.  497 

country  daily  to  procure  new  confederates.*  At  the  public 
preachings  of  the  reformed  religion,  which  soon  after  thiu  epoch 
broke  forth  throughout  the  Netherlands  as  by  a  common  im- 
pulse, he  made  himself  conspicuous.  He  was  accused  of  wear- 
ing, on  such  occasions,  the  ensigns  of  the  Fleece  about  his 
neck,  in  order  to  induce  ignorant  people  to  believe  that  they 
might  themselves  legally  follow,  when  they  perceived  a  mem- 
ber of  that  illustrious  fraternity  to  be  leading  the  way.f  As 
De  Hammes  was  only  an  official  or  servant  of  that  Order,  but 
not  a  companion,  the  seduction  of  the  lieges  by  such  false  pre- 
tenses was  reckoned  among  the  most  heinous  of  his  offences. 
He  was  fierce  in  his  hostility  to  the  government,  and  one  of 
those  fiery  spirits  whose  premature  zeal  was  prejudicial  to  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  disheartening  to  the  cautious  patriotism 
of  Orange.  He  was  for  smiting  at  once  the  gigantic  atrocity 
of  the  Spanish  dominion,  without  waiting  for  the  forging  of 
the  weapons  by  which  the  blows  were  to  be  dealt.  He  forgot 
that  men  and  money  were  as  necessary  as  wrath,  in  a  contest 
with  the  most  tremendous  despotism  of  the  world.  "  They 
wish,"  he  wrote  to  Count  Louis,  "  that  we  should  meet  these 
hungry  wolves  with  remonstrances,  using  gentle  words,  while 
they  are  burning  and  cutting  off  heads.  Be  it  so  then.  Let 
us  take  the  pen — let  them  take  the  sword.  For  them  deeds, 
for  us  words.  We  shall  weep,  they  will  laugh.  The  Lord  be 
praised  for  all ;  but  I  can  not  write  this  without  tears."J  This 
nervous  language  painted  the  situation  and  the  character  of 

the  writer. 

* 

As  for  Charles  Mansfeld,  he  soon  fell  away  from  the  league 
which  he  had  embraced  originally  with  excessive  ardor.§ 

By  the  influence  of  the  leaders  many  signatures  were  ob- 
tained during  the  first  two  months  of  the  year.  The  language 
of  the  document  was  such  that  patriotic  Catholics  could  sign  it 


*  Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  400.     Strada,  v.  172. 
f  Registre  des  Condamnes  MS.,  ubi  sup. 
%  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  36,  37. 

§  Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II,  303-306,  422.     Groen  v.  Trinst.,  Archives, 
etc.,  ii.  409. 

vol.  1.  32 


498  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

as  honestly  as  Protestants.  It  inveighed  bitterly  against  the 
tyranny  of  "  a  heap  of  strangers/'  who,  influenced  only  by  pri- 
vate avarice  and  ambition,  were  making  use  of  an  affected  zeal 
for  the  Catholic  religion,  to  persuade  the  King  into  a  violation 
of  his  oaths.  It  denounced  the  refusal  to  mitigate  the  severity 
of  the  edicts.  It  declared  the  inquisition,  which  it  seemed  the 
intention  of  government  to  fix  permanently  upon  them,  as 
"  iniquitous,  contrary  to  all  laws,  human  and  divine,  surpassing 
the  greatest  barbarism  which  was  ever  practised  by  tyrants, 
and  as  redounding  to  the  dishonor  of  God  and  to  the  total  des- 
olation of  the  country."  The  signers  protested,  therefore,  that 
"  having  a  due  regard  to  their  duties  as  faithful  vassals  of  his 
Majesty,  and  especially  as  noblemen — and  in  order  not  to  be 
deprived  of  their  estates  and  their  lives  by  those  who,  under 
pretext  of  religion,  wished  to  enrich  themselves  by  plunder  and 
murder/'  they  had  bound  themselves  to  each  other  by  holy 
covenant  and  solemn  oath  to  resist  the  inquisition.  They 
mutually  promised  to  oppose  it  in  every  shape,  open  or  covert, 
under  whatever  mask  it  might  assume,  whether  bearing  the 
name  of  inquisition,  placard,  or  edict,  "  and  to  extirpate  and 
eradicate  the  thing  in  any  form,  as  the  mother  of  all  iniquity 
and  disorder."  They  protested  before  God  and  man,  that  they 
"would  attempt  nothing  to  the  dishonor  of  the  Lord  or  to  the 
diminution  of  the  King's  grandeur,  majesty,  or  dominion. 
They  declared,  on  the  contrary,  an  honest  purpose  to  "main- 
tain the  monarch  in  his  estate,  and  to  suppress  all  seditions, 
tumults,  monopolies,  and  factions."  They  engaged  to  pre- 
serve their  confederation,  thus  formed,  forever  inviolable,  and 
to  permit  none  of  its  members  to  be  persecuted  in  any  manner, 
in  body  or  goods,  by  any  proceeding  founded  on  the  inquisition, 
the  edicts,  or  the  present  league.* 

It  will  be  seen  therefore,  that  the  Compromise  was  in  its 
origin,  a  covenant  of  nobles.  It  was  directed  against  the 
foreign  influence  by  which  the  Netherlands  were  exclusively 


*  The  Compromise  has  been  often  printed.  Vide,  e.  g.,  Groen  v.  Prinst, 
Archives,  etc.,  iL  2,  sqq.  Foppens,  Supple'ment  a  Strada,  ii.  299,  sqq.  Bor,  ii, 
S3,  54 


1566.]  OPINIONS   OF    ORANGE.  499 

governed,  and  against  the  inquisition,  whether  papal,  episcopal, 
or  by  edict.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  country  was  control- 
led entirely  by  Spanish  masters,  and  that  the  intention  was  to 
reduce  the  ancient  liberty  of  the  Netherlands  into  subjection 
to  a  junta  of  foreigners  sitting  at  Madrid.  Nothing  more 
legitimate  could  be  imagined  than  a  constitutional  resistance 
to  such  a  policy. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  had  not  been  consulted  as  to  the 
formation  of  the  league.*  It  was  sufficiently  obvious  to  its 
founders  that  his  cautious  mind  would  find  much  to  censure 
in  the  movement.  His  sentiments  with  regard  to  the  inqui- 
sition and  the  edicts  were  certainly  known  to  all  men.  In 
the  beginning  of  this  year,  too,  he  had  addressed  a  remarkable 
letterf  to  the  Duchess,  in  answer  to  her  written  commands 
to  cause  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  inquisition,  and  the 
edicts,  in  accordance  with  the  recent  commands  of  the 
King,  to  be  published  and  enforced  throughout  his  govern- 
ment. Although  his  advice  on  the  subject  had  not  been 
asked,  he  expressed  his  sense  of  obligation  to  speak  his  mind 
on  the  subject,  preferring  the  hazard  of  being  censured  for  his 
remonstrance,  to  that  of  incurring  the  suspicion  of  con- 
nivance at  the  desolation  of  the  land  by  his  silence.  He 
left  the  question  of  reformation  in  ecclesiastical  morals 
untouched,  as  not  belonging  to  his  vocation.  As  to  the 
inquisition,  he  most  distinctly  informed  her  highness  that  the 
hope  which  still  lingered  in  the  popular  mind  of  escaping  the 
permanent  establishment  of  that  institution,  had  alone  pre- 
vented the  utter  depopulation  of  the  country,  with  entire  sub- 
version of  its  commercial  and  manufacturing  industry.  With 
regard  to  the  edicts,  he  temperately  but  forcibly  expressed  the 
opinion  that  it  was  very  hard  to  enforce  those  placards  now  in 

*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  ii.  11, 15. 

f  24th  January,  1566.  The  letter  is  published  by  Groen  v.  Prinsterc-r.  Ar- 
chives, etc.,  ii.  16-21,  and  in  Bor,  33,  34.  It  may  be  found  also  in  Gachard, 
Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit.,  ii.  106,  sqq.,  and  in  Reiffenberg,  Corresp. 
de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  16-20. 

The  original,  entirely  in  the  handwriting  of  the  Prince,  is  in  the  Archives  of 
the  State  Council  at  Brussels. 


500  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

their  rigor,  when  the  people  were  exasperated,  and  the  misery 
universal,  inasmuch  as  they  had  frequently  been  modified  on 
former  occasions.  The  King,  he  said,  could  gain  nothing  hut 
difficulty  for  himself,  and  woidd  he  sure  to  lose  the  affection 
of  his  subjects  by  renewing  the  edicts,  strengthening  the  in- 
quisition, and  proceeding  to  fresh  executions,  at  a  time  when 
the  people,  moved  by  the  example  of  their  neighbors,  were 
naturally  inclined  to  novelty.  Moreover,  when  by  reason  of 
the  daily  increasing  prices  of  grain  a  famine  was  impending 
over  the  land,  no  worse  moment  could  be  chosen  to  enforce  such 
a  policy.  In  conclusion,  he  observed  that  he  was  at  all  times 
desirous  to  obey  the  commands  of  his  Majesty  and  her  High- 
ness, and  to  discharge  the  duties  of  "  a  good  Christian."  The 
use  of  the  latter  term  is  remarkable,  as  marking  an  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  Prince's  mind.  A  year  before  he  would  have 
said  a  good  Catholic,  but  it  was  during  this  year  that  his 
mind  began  to  be  thoroughly  pervaded  by  religious  doubt,  and 
that  the  great  question  of  the  Reformation  forced  itself,  not 
only  as  a  political,  but  as  a  moral  problem  upon  him,  which 
he  felt  that  he  could  not  much  longer  neglect  instead  of 
solving. 

Such  were  the  opinions  of  Orange.  He  could  not,  how- 
ever, safely  entrust  the  sacred  interests  of  a  commonwealth  to 
such  hands  as  those  of  Brederode — however  deeply  that  enthu- 
siastic personage  might  drink  the  health  of  "  Younker  Wil- 
liam," as  he  affectionately  denominated  the  Prince — or  to 
"  Golden  Fleece,"  or  to  Charles  Mansfeld,  or  to  that  younger 
wild  boar  of  Ardennes,  Robert  de  la  Marck.  In  his  brother 
and  in  Sainte  Aldegonde  he  had  confidence,  but  he  did  not  ex- 
ercise over  them  that  control  which  he  afterwards  acquired.  Hio 
conduct  towards  the  confederacy  was  imitated  in  the  main  by 
the  other  great  nobles.  The  covenanters  never  expected  to  ob- 
tain the  signatures  of  such  men  as  Orange,  Egmont,  Horn, 
Meghen,  Berghen,  or  Montigny,  nor  were  those  eminent  per- 
sonages ever  accused  of  having  signed  the  Compromise,  al- 
though some  of  them  were  afterwards  charged  with  having  pro- 
tected those  who  did  affix  their  names  to  the  document.     The 


1566.]  PRUDENT    PHILIP    AND    SILENT    WILLIAM.  501 

confederates  were  originally  found  among  tho  lesser  nobles. 
Of  these  some  were  sincere  Catholics,  who  loved  the  ancient 
Church  but  hated  the  inquisition  ;  some  were  fierce  Calvinists 
or  determined  Lutherans  ;  some  were  troublous  and  adven- 
turous spirits,  men  of  broken  fortunes,  extravagant  habits,  and 
boundless  desires,  who  no  doubt  thought  that  the  broad  lands 
of  the  Church,  with  their  stately  abbeys,  would  furnish  much 
more  fitting  homes  and  revenues  for  gallant  gentlemen  than 
for  lazy  monks.0  All  were  young,  few  had  any  prudence  or 
conduct,  and  the  history  of  the  league  more  than  justified  the 
disapprobation  of  Orange.  The  nobles  thus  banded  together, 
achieved  little  by  their  confederacy.  They  disgraced  a  great 
cause  by  their  orgies,  almost  ruined  it  by  their  inefficiency,  and 
when  the  rope  of  sand  which  they  had  twisted  fell  asunder,  the 
people  had  gained  nothing  and  the  gentry  had  almost  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  nation.  These  remarks  apply  to  the 
mass  of  the  confederates  and  to  some  of  the  leaders.  Louis 
of  Nassau  and  Sainte  Aldegondc  were  ever  honored  and  trusted 
as  they  deserved. 

Although  the  language  of  the  Compromise  spoke  of  the 
leaguers  as  nobles,  yet  the  document  was  circulated  among 
burghers  and  merchants  also,  many  of  whom,  according  to  the 
satirical  remark  of  a  Netherland  Catholic,  may  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  desire  of  writing  their  names  in  such  aristo- 
cratic company,  and  some  of  whom  were  destined  to  expiate 
such  vainglory  upon  the  scaffold.f 

With  such  associates,  therefore,  the  profound  and  anxious 
mind  of  Orange  could  have  little  in  common.  Confidence 
expanding  as  the  numbers  increased,  their  audacity  and  turbu- 
lence grew  with  the  growth  of  the  league.  The  language  at 
their  wild  banquets  was  as  hot  as  the  wine  which  confused 
their  heads  ;  yet  the  Prince  knew  that  there  was  rarely  a 
festival  in  which  there  did  not  sit  some  calm,  temperate 
Spaniard,  watching  with  quiet  eye  and  cool  brain  the  ex- 
travagant  demeanor,    and  listening   with   composure  to  the 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS.  f  Ibid 


502  THE    KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

dangerous  avowals  or  bravados  of  these  revellers,  with  the 
purpose  of  transmitting  a  record  of  their  language  or  demon- 
strations to  the  inmost  sanctuary  of  Philip's  cabinet  at 
Madrid.*  The  Prince  knew,  too,  that  the  King  was  very 
sincere  in  his  determination  to  maintain  the  inquisition, 
however  dilatory  his  proceedings  might  appear.  He  was 
well  aware  that  an  armed  force  might  be  expected  ere  long  to 
support  the  royal  edicts.  Already  the  Prince  had  organized 
that  system  of  espionage  upon  Philip,  by  which  the  champion 
of  his  country  was  so  long  able  to  circumvent  its  despot.  The 
King  left  letters  carefully  locked  in  his  desk  at  night,  and 
unseen  hands  had  forwarded  copies  of  them  to  William  of 
Orange  before  the  morning.  He  left  memoranda  in  his  pock- 
ets on  retiring  to  bed,  and  exact  transcripts  of  those  papers 
found  their  way,  likewise,  ere  he  rose,^  to  the  same  watchman 
in  the  Netherlands.  No  doubt  that  an  inclination  for  political 
intrigue  was  a  prominent  characteristic  of  the  Prince,  and  a 
blemish  upon  the  purity  of  his  moral  nature.  Yet  the  dissimu- 
lating policy  of  his  age  he  had  mastered  only  that  he  might  ac- 
complish the  noblest  purposes  to  which  a  great  and  good  man 
can  devote  his  life — the  protection  of  the  liberty  and  the  religion 
of  a  whole  people  against  foreign  tyranny.  His  intrigue  served 
his  country,  not  a  narrow  personal  ambition,  and  it  was  only 
by  such  arts  that  he  became  Philip's  master,  instead  of  falling 
at  once,  like  so  many  great  personages,  a  blind  and  infatuated 


*  " Les  faisant  seoir  le  plus  souvent  au  plus  beau  de  leurs  tables  par  une  cour- 
toise  maniere  de  faire  que  nous  avoDS  de  caresser  les  etrangers ;  sy  tost  que  lo 
vin  estoit  monte  au  cerveau  de  nos  seigneurs  et  gentilshommes  parloient  libre- 
raent  a  leur  accoustumee  de  toutes  choses,  descouvrant  par  grande  simplesse  ce 
qu'ils  avoient  au  cceur,  sans  considerer  que  ces  oiseaux  estoyent  a,  leurs  tables, 
lesquels  demeurans  tousjours  en  cervelle  notoyent  diligemment  le  propos  des 
convivans  jusques  a  remarquer  leurs  contenances  pour  en  faire  rapport  a  certains 
commis  qu'ils  appelloyent  auditeurs." — Pontus  Payen  MS.,  liv.  i. 

f  Pontus  Payen  MS. — "  Entre  aultres  par  le  Secretaire  Van  den  Esse,  lequel 
abusant  de  la  privaulte  du  Roy  son  maistre,  avoit  (comme  aulcuns  veullent  dire) 
este  si  temeraire  de  fureter  sa  pocbe,  pendant  qu'il  estoit  au  lict,  et  lire  les  let- 
tres  secretes  qu'il  recevoit  de  Madame  de  Parme  et  du  Cardinal,  faisant  apres 
entendre  lo  contenu  au  Prince  d'Orange,"  etc.,  etc. 


1566.]  panic.  503 

victim.  No  doubt  his  purveyors  of  secret  information  were 
often  destined  fearfully  to  atone  for  their  contraband  com- 
merce, but  they  who  trade  in  treason  must  expect  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  their  traffic. 

Although,  therefore,  the  great  nobles  held  themselves  aloof 
from  the  confederacy,  yet  many  of  them  gave  unequivocal 
signs  of  their  dissent  from  the  policy  adopted  by  govern- 
ment. Marquis  Berghen  wrote  to  the  Duchess,  resigning  his 
posts,  on  the  ground  of  his  inability  to  execute  the  intention 
of  the  King  in  the  matter  of  religion.  Meghen  replied  to 
the  same  summons  bv  a  similar  letter.  Eminent  assured  her 
that  he  would  have  placed  his  offices  in  the  King's  hands 
in  Spain,  could  he  have  foreseen  that  his  Majesty  would  form 
such  resolutions  as  had  now  been  proclaimed.  The  sentiments 
of  Orange  were  avowed  in  the  letter  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded.  His  opinions  were  shared  by  Montigny,  Culemburg, 
and  many  others.  The  Duchess  was  almost  reduced  to  despe- 
ration. The  condition  of  the  country  was  frightful.  The  most 
determined  loyalists,  such  as  Berlaymont,  Viglius  and  Hopper, 
advised  her  not  to  mention  the  name  of  inquisition  in  a  con- 
ference which  she  was  obliged  to  hold  with  a  deputation  from 
Antwerp.*  She  feared,  all  feared,  to  pronounce  the  hated 
word.  She  wrote  despairing  letters  to  Philip,  describing  the 
condition  of  the  land  and  her  own  agony  in  the  gloomiest 
colors.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  royal  orders,  she  said,  things 
had  gone  from  bad  to  worse.  The  King  had  been  ill  advised. 
It  was  useless  to  tell  the  people  that  the  inquisition  had 
always  existed  in  the  provinces.  They  maintained  that  it 
was  a  novelty ;  that  the  institution  was  a  more  rigorous  one 
than  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  which,  said  Margaret,  "  was 
most  odious,  as  the  King  knew."f  It  was  utterly  impos- 
sible to  carry  the  edicts  into  execution.  Nearly  all  the 
governors  of  provinces  had  told  her  plainly  that  they  would 
not  help  to  burn  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  Netherlanders.J    Thus 


*  Correspondance  do  Philippe  IL,  i.  3S6,  3S7,  397. 
f  Ibid.  %  Ibid. 


504  THE   KISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

bitterly  did  Margaret  of  Parma  bewail  the  royal  decree ;  not 
that  she  had  any  sympathy  for  the  victims,  but  because 
she  felt  the  increasing  danger  to  the  executioner.  One  of  two 
things  it  was  now  necessary  to  decide  upon, — concession  or 
armed  compulsion.  Meantime,  while  Philip  was  slowly  and 
secretly  making  his  levies,  his  sister,  as  well  as  his  people, 
was  on  the  rack.  Of  all  the  seigniors,  not  one  was  placed  in 
so  painful  a  position  as  Egmont.  His  military  reputation 
and  his  popularity  made  him  too  important  a  personage  to  be 
t lighted,  yet  he  was  deeply  mortified  at  the  lamentable  mis- 
take which  he  had  committed.  He  now  averred  that  he 
would  never  take  arms  against  the  King,  but  that  he  would  go 
where  man  should  never  see  him  more.* 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  nobles,  greater  and  less. 
That  of  the  people  could  not  well  be  worse.  Famine  reigned 
in  the  land.f  Emigration,  caused  not  by  over  population, 
but  by  persecution,  was  fast  weakening  the  country.  It 
was  no  wonder  that  not  only  foreign  merchants  should  be 
scared  from  the  great  commercial  cities  by  the  approaching 
disorders,  but  that  every  industrious  artisan  who  could  find 
the  means  of  escape  should  seek  refuge  among  strangers, 
wherever  an  asylum  could  be  found.  That  asylum  wTas  afforded 
by  Protestant  England,  who  received  these  intelligent  and 
unfortunate  wanderers  with  cordiality,  and  learned  with 
eagerness  the  lessons  in  mechanical  skill  which  they  had  to 
teach.  Already  thirty  thousand  emigrant  Netherlander  were 
established  in  Sandwich/Norwich,  and  other  places,  assigned 
to  them  by  Elizabeth.^  It  had  always,  however,  been  made 
a  condition  of  the  liberty  granted  to  these  foreigners  for 
practising  their  handiwork,  that  each  house  should  employ  at 
least  one   English   apprentice^      "  Thus,"   said   a   Walloon 


0  Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II.,  391. 

f  Pasquier  de  la  Barre,  MS.,  1™.     Correspondanco  do  Philippo  II.,  i.  392. 

%  Ibid. 

§  Renora  de  France,  MS. — "  Et  affin  do  fairo  croistro  ces  mestiers  et  artifices 
en  Angleterre,  nul  de  ceulx  qui  so  sont  retires  illecq  ont  peu  fairo  mestiers  s'Ua 
u'avoient  apprentisseurs  Anglois,  un  pour  le  moings." — i.  c.  iv. 


1566.]  EMIGRATION   TO   ENGLAND.  505 

historian,  splenetically,  "  by  this  regulation,  and  by  means 
of  heavy  duties  on  foreign  manufactures,  have  the  English 
built  up  their  own  fabrics  and  prohibited  those  of  the  Nether- 
lands. Thus  have  thqy  drawn  over  to  their  own  country  our 
skilful  artisans  to  practise  their  industry,  not  at  home  but 
abroad,  and  our  poor  people  are  thus  losing  the  means  of 
earning  their  livelihood.  Thus  has  cloth-making,  silk-making 
and  the  art  of  dyeing  declined  in  this  country,  and  would 
have  been  quite  extinguished  but  by  our  wise  counter- 
vailing edicts."*  The  writer,  who  derived  most  of  his  mate- 
rials and  his  wisdom  from  the  papers  of  Councillor  d'Asson- 
leville,  could  hardly  doubt  that  the  persecution  to  which  these 
industrious  artisans,  whose  sufferings  he  affected  to  deplore, 
had  been  subjected,  must  have  had  something  to  do  with 
their  expatriation  ;  but  he  preferred  to  ascribe  it  wholly  to 
the  protective  system  adopted  by  England.  In  tins  he  fol- 
lowed the  opinion  of  his  preceptor.  "  For  a  long  time,"  said 
Assonleville,  "  the  Netherlands  have  been  the  Indies  to  Ensr- 
land  ;  and  as  long  as  she  has  them,  she  needs  no  other. 
The  French  try  to  surprise  our  fortresses  and  cities  :  the 
English  make  war  upon  our  wealth  and  upon  the  purses  of 
the  people."f  Whatever  the  cause,  however,  the  current  of 
trade  was  already  turned.  The  cloth-making  of  England 
was  already  gaining  preponderance  over  that  of  the  prov- 
inces. Vessels  now  went  every  week  from  Sandwich  to 
Antwerp,  laden  with  silk,  satin,  and  cloth,  manufactured  in 
England,  while  as  many  but  a  few  years  before,  had  borne  the 
Flemish  fabrics  of  the  same   nature  from  Antwerp  to  Eng- 

land.4 

It  might  be  supposed  by  disinterested  judges  that  persecu- 
tion was  at  the  bottom  of  this  change  in  commerce.  The 
Prince  of  Orange  estimated  that  up  to  this  period  fifty 
thousand  persons  in  the  provinces  had  been  put  to  death  in 
obedience  to  the  edicts.§     He  was  a  moderate  man,  and  accus- 

*  Renom  do  France  MS.,  ubi  sup. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  382.  $  Ibid.,  i.,  392. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  22. 


506  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [156G. 

tomed  to  weigh  his  words.  As  a  new  impulse  had  been 
given  to  the  system  of  butchery — as  it  was  now  sufficiently 
plain  that  "  if  the  father  had  chastised  his  people  with  a 
scourge  the  son  held  a  whip  of  scorpions."0 — as  the  edicts  were 
to  be  enforced  with  renewed  vigor — it  was  natural  that 
commerce  and  manufactures  should  make  their  escape  out  of 
a  doomed  land  as  soon  as  possible,  whatever  system  of  tariffs 
might  be  adopted  by  neighboring  nations. 

A  new  step  had  been  resolved  upon  early  in  the  month  of 
March  by  the  confederates.  A  petition,  or  "  Request,"  was 
drawn  up,  which  was  to  be  presented  to  the  Duchess  Regent 
in  a  formal  manner  by  a  large  number  of  gentlemen  belonging 
to  the  league.  This  movement  was  so  grave,  and  likely  to  be 
followed  by  such  formidable  results,  that  it  seemed  absolutely 
necessary  for  Orange  and  his  friends  to  take  some  previous 
cognizance  of  it  before  it  was  finally  arranged.  The  Prince 
had  no  power,  nor  was  there  any  reason  why  he  should  have 
the  inclination,  to  prevent  the  measure,  but  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  do  what  he  could  to  control  the  vehemence  of  the  men  who 
were  moving  so  rashly  forward,  and  to  take  from  their  mani- 
festo, as  much  as  possible,  the  character  of  a  menace. 

For  this  end,  a  meeting  ostensibly  for  social  purposes  and 
"  good  cheer"  was  held,  in  the  middle  of  March,  at  Breda,  and 
afterwards  adjourned  to  Hoogstraaten.  To  these  conferences 
Orange  invited  Egmont,  Horn,  Hoogstraaten,  Berghen, 
Meghen,  Montigny,  and  other  great  nobles.  Brederode, 
Tholouse,  Boxtel,  and  other  members  of  the  league,  were  also 
present.f  The  object  of  the  Prince  in  thus  assembling  his 
own  immediate  associates,  governors  of  provinces  and  knights 
of  the  Fleece,  as  well  as  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
league,  was  twofold.  It  had  long  been  his  opinion  that  a 
temperate  and  loyal  movement  was  still  possible,  by  which 


*  Apologie  d'Orange,  58. 

f  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  38,  sqq.  Correspondance  do  Philippe 
II.,  i.  397,  398,  399.  Poppens,  Supplement,  i.  78,  79,  (Proces  d'Egmont.)— 
Compare  Bentivoglio,  ii.  27;  "Wagenaar,  vi.  133,  134;  Vander  Haer,  305,  sqq.; 
Apologio  d'Orange,  56,  sqq. 


1566.]  THE   REQUEST.  507 

the  impending  convulsions  might  be  averted.  The  line  of 
policy  which  he  had  marked  out  required  the  assent  of  the 
magnates  of  the  land,  and  looked  towards  the  convocation  of 
the  states-general.  It  was  natural  that  he  should  indulge  in 
the  hope  of  being  seconded  by  the  men  who  were  in  the  same 
political  and  social  station  with  himself.  All,  although  Catho- 
lics, hated  the  inquisition.  As  Viglius  pathetically  exclaimed, 
"Saint  Paul  himself  would  have  been  unable  to  persuade  these 
men  that  good  fruit  was  to  be  gathered  from  the  inquisition  in 
the  cause  of  religion."0  Saint  Paul  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  reappear  on  earth  for  such  a  purpose.  Meantime  the  argu- 
ments of  the  learned  President  had  proved  powerless,  either  to 
convince  the  nobles  that  the  institution  was  laudable  or  to  ob- 
tain from  the  Duchess  a  postponement  in  the  publication  of 
the  late  decrees.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  however,  was  not 
able  to  bring  his  usual  associates  to  his  way  of  thinking.  The 
violent  purposes  of  the  leaguers  excited  the  wrath  of  the  more 
loyal  nobles.  Their  intentions  were  so  dangerous,  even  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Prince  himself,  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  lay 
the  whole  subject  before  the  Duchess,  although  he  was  not  op- 
posed to  the  presentation  of  a  modest  and  moderate  Kequest.f 
Meghen  was  excessively  indignant  at  the  plan  of  the  confed- 
erates, which  he  pronounced  an  insult  to  the  government,  a 
treasonable  attempt  to  overawe  the  Duchess,  by  a  "  few 
wretched  vagabonds.  "|  He  swore  that  "he  would  break  every 
one  of  their  heads,  if  the  King  would  furnish  him  with  a 
couple  of  hundred  thousand  florins."§  Orange  quietly  rebuked 
this  truculent  language,  by  assuring  him  both  that  such  a 
process  would  be  more  difficult  than  he  thought,  and  that  he 
would  also  find  many  men  of  great  respectability  among  the 
vagabonds. 

The  meeting  separated  at  Hoogstraaten  without  any  useful 
result,  but  it  was  now  incumbent  upon  the  Prince,  in  his  own 
judgment,  to  watch,  and  in  a  measure  to  superintend,   the 


*  Vigl.  Epist.  ad  Hopperum,  359.  f  Apologie  d'Orango,  58. 

J  Yander  Haer,  306. — "  Pauci  nebulones."  §  Ibid. 


508  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

proceedings  of  the  confederates.  By  his  care  the  contemplated 
Request  was  much  altered,  and  especially  made  more  gentle  in 
its  tone.  Meghen  separated  himself  thenceforth  entirely  from 
Orange,  and  ranged  himself  exclusively  upon  the  side  of  Gov- 
ernment. Egmont  vacillated,  as  usual,  satisfying  neither  the 
Prince  nor  the  Duchess.* 

Margaret  of  Parma  was  seated  in  her  council  chamber  very 
soon  after  these  occurrences,  attended  both  by  Orange  and 
Egmont,  when  the  Count  of  Meghen  entered  the  apartment. 
With  much  precipitation,  he  begged  that  all  matters  then 
before  the  board  might  be  postponed,  in  order  that  he  might 
make  an  important  announcement.  He  then  stated  that  he 
had  received  information  from  a  gentleman  on  whose  word  he 
could  rely,  a  very  affectionate  servant  of  the  King,  but  whose 
name  he  had  promised  not  to  reveal,  that  a  very  extensive 
conspiracy  of  heretics  and  sectaries  had  been  formed,  both 
within  and  without  the  Netherlands,  that  they  had  already  a 
force  of  thirty-five  thousand  men,  foot  and  horse,  ready  for 
action,  that  they  were  about  to  make  a  sudden  invasion,  and 
to  plunder  the  whole  country,  unless  they  immediately  received 
a  formal  concession  ef  entire  liberty  of  conscience,  and  that, 
within  six  or  seven  days,  fifteen  hundred  men-at-arms  would 
make  their  appearance  before  her  Highness.f  These  ridiculous 
exaggerations  of  the  truth  were  confirmed  by  Egmont,  who 
said  that  he  had  received  similar  information  from  persons 
whose  names  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  mention,  but  from  whose 
statements  he  could  announce  that  some  great  tumult  might 
be  expected  every  day.  He  added  that  there  were  among  the 
confederates  many  who  wished  to  change  their  sovereign,  and 
that  the  chieftains  and  captains  of  the  conspiracy  were  all 
appointed. $  The  same  nobleman  also  laid  before  the  council 
a  copy  of  the  Compromise^  the  terms  of  which  famous  docu- 


*  Vander  Haer,  309. 

f  Hopper,  Rec.  ct  Mem.,  69,  sqq.     Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  293,  sqq.     Hoofd, 
ii.  71,  72. 

I  Foppens,  Supplement,  293,  sqq.     (Letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma  to  Philippe  II.) 
§  Hopper,  70. 


1566.]  AGITATION.  509 

ment  scarcely  justified  the  extravagant  language  with  which 
it  had  been  heralded.  The  Duchess  was  astounded  at  these 
communications.  She  had  already  received,  but  probably  not 
yet  read,  a  letter  from  the  Prince  of  Orange  upon  the  subject, 
in  which  a  moderate  and  plain  statement  of  the  actual 
facts  was  laid  down,  which  was  now  reiterated  by  the  same 
personage  by  word  of  mouth.*  An  agitated  and  inconclu- 
sive debate  followed,  in  which,  however,  it  sufficiently  ap- 
peared, as  the  Duchess  informed  her  brother,  that  one  of  two 
things  must  be  done  without  further  delay.  The  time  had 
'arrived  for  the  government  to  take  up  arms,  or  to  make 
concessions. 

In  one  of  the  informal  meetings  of  councillors,  now  held 
almost  daily,  on  the  subject  of  the  impending  Request,  Arem- 
berg,  Meghen,  and  Berlaymont  maintained  that  the  door 
should  be  shut  in  the  face  of  the  petitioners  without  taking 
any  further  notice  of  the  petition.  Berlaymont  suggested  also, 
that  if  this  course  were  not  found  advisable,  the  next  best 
thing  would  be  to  allow  the  confederates  to  enter  the  palace 
with  their  Request,  and  then  to  cut  them  to  pieces  to  the  very 
last  man,  by  means  of  troops  to  be  immediately  ordered  from 
the  frontiers."]"  Such  sanguinary  projects  were  indignantly 
rebuked  by  Orange.  He  maintained  that  the  confederates 
were  entitled  to  be  treated  with  respect.  Many  of  them,  he 
said,  were  his  friends — some  of  them  his  relations— and  there 
was  no  reason  for  refusing  to  gentlemen  of  their  rank,  a  right 
which  belonged  to  the  poorest  plebeian  in  the  land.  Egmont 
sustained  these  views  of  the  Prince  as  earnestly  as  he  had  on 
a  previous  occasion  appeared  to  countenance  the  more  violent 
counsels  of  Meghen.  | 

Meantime,  as  it  was  obvious  that  the  demonstration  on  the 


*  Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  (Letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma).     Hopper,  70. 

f  Pontus  Payen,  ii.,  MS. — "Les  Comtes  de  Megne,  d'Aremberg,  et  Sr.  do  Ber- 
laymont estoyent  d'advis  de  leur  fermer  la  porte  au  visaige ou  bien  les  laisser 

au  Palais  et  puis  les  faire  tailler  en  pieces  par  les  gens  de  guerre,  quo  Ton  feroU 
venir  des  frontieres." — Compare  Vander  Haer,  307,  303. 

t  Pontu3  Payen  MS.     Vander  Haer,  308. 


510  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

part  of  the  confederacy  was  soon  about  to  be  made,  the  Duchess 
convened  a  grand  assembly  of  notables,  in  which  not  only  all  the 
state  and  privy  councillors,  but  all  the  governors  and  knights 
of  the  Fleece  were  to  take  part.  On  the  28th  of  March,*  this 
assembly  was  held,  at  which  the  whole  subject  of  the  Request, 
together  with  the  proposed  modifications  of  the  edicts  and 
abolition  of  the  inquisition,  was  discussed.  The  Duchess  also 
requested  the  advice  of  the  meeting  whether  it  would  not  be 
best  for  her  to  retire  to  some  other  city,  like  Mons,  which 
she  had  selected  as  her  stronghold  in  case  of  extremity.  The 
decision  was  that  it  would  be  a  high-handed  proceeding  to* 
refuse  the  right  of  petition  to  a  body  of  gentlemen,  many 
of  them  related  to  the  greatest  nobles  in  the  land ;  but  it  was 
resolved  that  they  should  be  required  to  make  their  appear* 
ance  without  arms.  As  to  the  contemplated  flight  of  the 
Duchess,  it  was  urged,  with  much  reason,  that  such  a  step 
would  cast  disgrace  upon  the  government,  and  that  it  would 
be  a  sufficiently  precautionary  measure  to  strengthen  the 
guards  at  the  city  gates — not  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the 
petitioners,  but  to  see  that  they  were  unaccompanied  by  an 
armed  force.  It  had  been  decided  that  Count  Brederode  should 
present  the  petition  to  the  Duchess  at  the  head  of  a  deputa- 
tion of  about  three  hundred  gentlemen.  The  character  of  the 
nobleman  thus  placed  foremost  on  such  an  important  occasion 
has  been  sufficiently  made  manifest.  He  had  no  qualities 
whatever  but  birth  and  audacity  to  recommend  him  as  a  leader 
for  a  political  party.  It  was  to  be  seen  that  other  attributes 
were  necessary  to  make  a  man  useful  in  such  a  position,  and 
the  Count's  deficiencies  soon  became  lamentably  conspicuous. 
He  was  the  lineal  descendant  and  representative  of  the  old 
Sovereign  Counts  of  Holland.  Five  hundred  years  before 
his  birth,  his  ancestor  Sikko,  younger  brother  of  Dirk  the 
Third,  had  died,  leaving  two  sons,  one  of  whom  was  the  first 
Baron  of  Brederode.f     A  descent  of  five  centuries  in  unbroken 


*  Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  304-318  (Letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma,  3d  April, 
1565).     Correspondence  do  Philippe  II.,  i.  403-406. 
f  Wagenaer,  ii.  150 


1566.]  BBEDERODE,  511 

male  succession  from  the  original  sovereigns  of  Holland,  gave 
him  a  better  genealogical  claim  to  the  provinces  than  any 
which  Philip  of  Spain  could  assert  through  the  usurping 
house  of  Burgundy.  In  the  approaching  tumults  he  hoped 
for  an  opportunity  of  again  asserting  the  ancient  honors  of 
his  name.  He  was  a  sworn  foe  to  Spaniards  and  to  "  water  of 
the  fountain."*  But  a  short  time  previously  to  this  epoch 
he  had  written  to  Louis  of  Nassau,  then  lying  ill  of  a  fever, 
in  order  gravely  to  remonstrate  with  him  on  the  necessity  of 
substituting  wine  for  water  on  all  occasions,f  and  it  will  be 
seen  in  the  sequel  that  the  wine-cup  was  the  great  instrument 
on  which  he  relied  for  effecting  the  deliverance  of  the  country. 
Although  "  neither  bachelor  nor  chancellor/'t.  as  he  expressed 
it,  he  was  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  ready  eloquence  and 
mother  wit.§  Even  these  gifts,  however,  if  he  possessed 
them,  were  often  found  wanting  on  important  emergencies. 
Of  his  courage  there  was  no  question,  but  he  was  not  des- 
tined to  the  death  either  of  a  warrior  or  a  martyr.  Head- 
long, noisy,  debauched,  but  brave,  kind-hearted  and  generous, 
he  was  a  fitting  representative  of  his  ancestors,  the  hard- 
fighting,  hard-drinking,  crusading,  free-booting  sovereigns  of 
Holland  and  Friesland,  and  would  himself  have  been  more  at 
home  and  more  useful  in  the  eleventh  century  than  in  the 
sixteenth. 

It  was  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  on  the  third  day  of 
April  (1566),  that  the  long-expected  cavalcade  at  last  entered 
Brussels.  1 1  An  immense  concourse  of  citizens  of  all  ranks 
thronged  around  the  noble  confederates  as  soon  as  they  made 
their  appearance.  They  were  about  two  hundred  in  number, 
all  on  horseback,  with  pistols  in  their  holsters,  and  Brcde- 
rode,  tall,  athletic,  and  martial  in  his  bearing,  with  handsome 
features  and   fair   curling  locks  upon  his  shoulders,  seemed 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.  i.  397.  f  Ibid. 

%  Ibid.,  ii.  95. 

§  "  Ing:enti  verborum  factorumque  audacia." — Vander  Haer,  308. 
fl  Bor,  ii.  58.     Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  337.     Correspondanco  de  Philippe  II., 
i.  403-406. 


512  THE    EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

an  appropriate  chieftain  for  that  hand  of  Batavian  chivalry.* 
The  procession  was  greeted  with  frequent  demonstrations  of 
applause  as  it  wheeled  slowly  through  the  city  till  it  reached 
the  mansion  of  Orange  Nassau.  Here  Brederode  and  Count 
Louis  alighted,  while  the  rest  of  the  company  dispersed  to 
different  quarters  of  the  town. 

"  They  thought  that  I  should  not  come  to  Brussels,"  said 
Brederode,  as  he  dismounted.  "  Very  well,  here  I  am  ;  and 
perhaps  I  shall  depart  in  a  different  manner."f  In  the 
course  of  the  next  day,  Counts  Culemburg  and  Van  den  Berg 
entered  the  city  with  one  hundred  other  cavaliers. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  of  April,  the  confederates  were 
assembled  at  the  Culemburg  mansion,  which  stood  on  the 
square  called  the  Sabon,1;  within  a  few  minutes'  walk  of  the 
palace.  A  straight  handsome  street  led  from  the  house 
along  the  summit  of  the  hill,  to  the  splendid  residence  of 
the  ancient  Dukes  of  Brabant,  then  the  abode  of  Duchess 
Margaret.  At  a  little  before  noon,  the  gentlemen  came 
forth,  marching  on  foot,  two  by  two,  to  the  number  of 
three  hundred.  Nearly  all  were  young,  many  of  them  bore 
the  most  ancient  historical  names  of  their  country,  every  one 
was  arrayed  in  magnificent  costume.§  It  was  regarded  as 
ominous,  that  the  man  who  led  the  procession,  Philip  do 
Bailleul,  was  lame.  The  line  was  closed  by  Brederode  and 
Count  Louis,  who  came  last,  walking  arm  in  arm.  An 
immense  crowd  was  collected  in  the  square  in  front  of  the 
palace,  to  welcome  the  men  who  were  looked  upon  as  the 
deliverers  of  the  land  from  Spanish  tyranny,  from  the  Cardi- 
nalists,  and  from  the  inquisition.     They  were  received  with 


e  "  Hy  is  geweest  een  man  van  lange  stature,  rosagtig  van  aengesiclit,  met 

blond  gekrult  haar,  wel  gemackt  van  lijf  en  van  kden ont  vert  sacgt  en  klock 

ter  wapenen,"  etc.,  etc. — Bor,  iii.  168b. 

f  "  Eh  bien,  jy  suis,  et  j'en  sortirai  d'une  autro  maniero,  peut-etre." — Corrc- 
spondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  403-40G. 

X  The  site  of  the  Culemburg  mansion  was  afterwards  occupied  by  the  church 
of  the  "  Carmes  deschausses,"  upon  the  ruins  of  which  a  "maison  de  detention" 
has  risen.  §  Pontua  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 


1566.]  THE   PRESENTATION.  513 

deafening  huzzas  and  clappings  of  hands  by  the  assembled 
populace.  As  they  entered  the  council  chamber,  passing 
through  the  great  hall,  where  ten  years  before  the  Emperor 
had  given  away  his  crowns,  they  found  the  Emperor's  daugh- 
ter seated  in  the  chair  of  state,  and  surrounded  by  the  highest 
personages  of  the  country.  The  emotion  of  the  Duchess  was 
evident,  as  the  procession  somewhat  abruptly  made  its  ap- 
pearance ;  nor  was  her  agitation  diminished  as  she  observed 
J  among  the  petitioners  many  relatives  and  retainers  of  the 
Orange  and  Egmont  houses,  and  saw  friendly  glances  of  rec- 
ognition exchanged  between  them  and  their  chiefs.* 

As  soon  as  all  had  entered  the  senate  room,  Brede- 
rode  advanced,  made  a  low  obeisance,  and  spoke  a  brief 
speech.f  He  said  that  he  had  come  thither  with  his  col- 
leagues to  present  a  humble  petition  to  her  Highness.  He 
alluded  to  the  reports  which  had  been  rife,  that  they  had 
contemplated  tumult,  sedition,  foreign  conspiracies,  and,  what 
was  more  abominable  than  all,  a  change  of  sovereign.  He 
denounced  such  statements  as  calumnies,  begged  the  Duchess 
to  name  the  men  who  had  thus  aspersed  an  honorable  and 
loyal  company,  and  called  upon  her  to  inflict  exemplary  pun- 
ishment upon  the  slanderers.  With  these  prefatory  remarks 
he  presented  the  petition.  The  famous  document  was  then 
read  aloud.J  Its  tone  was  sufficiently  loyal,  particularly  in 
the  preamble,  which  was  filled  with  protestations  of  devotion  to 
both  King  and  Duchess.  After  this  conventional  introduction, 
however,  the  petitioners  proceeded  to  state,  very  plainly,  that 
the  recent  resolutions  of  his  Majesty,  with  regard  to  the  edicts 
and  the  inquisition,  were  likely  to  produce  a  general  rebellion. 
They  had  hoped,  they  said,  that  a  movement  would  be  made 
by  the  seigniors  or  by  the  estates,  to  remedy  the  evil  by 
dtriking  at  its  cause,  but   they  had  waited    in   vain.     The 


c  Pontus  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 

f  According  to  Viglius,  he  read  tho  speech ;  "  ex  scripto  pauca  praefatus." — 
Ep.  ad  Hopper,  vii.  358. 

%  It  has  heen  often  printed,  vide  e.  g.,  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  ii.  80-84. 
Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  318-323.     Bor,  ii.  58,  59,  et  mult.  aL 

vol.  i.  33 


514  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566- 

danger,  on  the  other  hand,  was  augmenting  every  day, 
universal  sedition  was  at  the  gate,  and  they  had  therefore  felt 
obliged  to  delay  no  longer,  but  come  forward  the  first  and  do 
their  duty.  They  professed  to  do  this  with  more  freedom,  be- 
cause the  danger  touched  them  very  nearly.  They  were  the 
most  exposed  to  the  calamities  which  usually  spring  from 
civil  commotions,  for  their  houses  and  lands  situate  in  the 
open  fields,  were  exposed  to  the  pillage  of  all  the  world. 
Moreover  there  was  not  one  of  them,  whatever  his  condition, 
who  was  not  liable  at  any  moment  to  be  executed  under  the 
edicts,  at  the  false  complaint  of  the  first  man  who  wished  to 
obtain  his  estate,  and  who  chose  to  denounce  him  to  the  in- 
quisitor, at  whose  mercy  were  the  lives  and  property  of  all. 
They  therefore  begged  the  Duchess  Eegent  to  despatch  an 
envoy  on  their  behalf,  who  should  humbly  implore  his  Majesty 
to  abolish  the  edicts.  In  the  mean  time  they  requested  her 
Highness  to  order  a  general  surcease  of  the  inquisition,  and 
of  all  executions,  until  the  King's  further  pleasure  was  made 
known,  and  until  new  ordinances,  made  by  his  Majesty  with 
advice  and  consent  of  the  states-general  duly  assembled, 
should  be  established.  The  petition  terminated  as  it  had  com- 
menced, with  expressions  of  extreme  respect  and  devoted 
loyalty. 

The  agitation  of  Duchess  Margaret  increased  very  per- 
ceptibly during  the  reading  of  the  paper.  When  it  was 
finished,  she  remained  for  a  few  minutes  quite  silent,  with 
tears  rolling;  down  her  cheeks.*  As  soon  as  she  could  over- 
come  her  excitement,  she  uttered  a  few  words  to  the  effect 
that  she  would  advise  with  her  councillors  and  give  the 
petitioners  such  answer  as  should  be  found  suitable.  The  con- 
federates then  passed  out  from  the  council  chamber  into  the 
grand  hall  ;  each  individual,  as  he  took  his  departure,  advanc- 
ing towards  the  Duchess  and   making  what   was  called  the 

*  Madame  la  Duchesse  se  trouva  de  prime  face  fort  troublee demeura 

bonne  espace  de  temps  sans  dire  mot,  ne  pouvant  contenir  les  larmes  que  Ton 
voioit  couller  de  sa  face,  tesmoignage  certain  de  la  triatesse  qu'enduroit  son 
esprit." — Pontua  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 


1566.]  BEGGAKS.  515 

"  caracole/'  in  token  of  reverence.  There  was  thus  ample  time 
to  contemplate  the  whole  company,  and  to  count  the  num- 
bers of  the  deputation.0 

After  this  ceremony  had  been  concluded,  there  was  much 
earnest  debate  in  the  council.  The  Prince  of  Orange  ad- 
dressed a  few  words  to  the  Duchess,  with  the  view  of  calming 
her  irritation.  He  observed  that  the  confederates  were  no 
seditious  rebels,  but  loyal  gentlemen,  well  born,  well  connected, 
and  of  honorable  character.  They  had  been  influenced,  he 
said,  by  an  honest  desire  to  save  their  country  from  impending 
danger — not  by  avarice  or  ambition.  Egmont  shrugged  his 
shoulders,f  and  observed  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
leave  the  court  for  a  season,  in  order  to  make  a  visit  to  the 
baths  of  Aix,  for  an  inflammation  which  he  had  in  the  leg.| 
It  was  then  that  Berlaymont,  according  to  the  account  which 
has  been  sanctioned  by  nearly  every  contemporary  writer, 
whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  uttered  the  gibe  which  was 
destined  to  become  immortal,  and  to  give  a  popular  name  to 
the  confederacy.  "  What,  Madam,"  he  is  reported  to  have 
cried  in  a  passion,  "  is  it  possible  that  your  Highness  can  en- 
tertain fears  of  these  beggars?  (gueux).  Is  it  not  obvious  what 
manner  of  men  they  are  ?  They  have  not  had  wisdom  enough 
to  manage  their  own  estates,  and  are  they  now  to  teach  the  King 
and  your  Highness  how  to  govern  the  country?  By  the  living 
God,  if  my  advice  were  taken,  their  petition  should  have  a 
cudgel  for  a  commentary,  and  we  would  make  them  go  down  the 
steps  of  the  palace  a  great  deal  faster  than  they  mounted  them."§ 

The  Count  of  Meghen  was  equally  violent  in  his  language. 


*  "Tournoyans  et  faisans  la  caracolo  devant  la  dite  Dame,"  etc. — Pontus 
Payen  MS. 

•j-  "En  haussant  les  epaules  a  l'ltalienne,"  etc. — Ibid. 

\  Ibid. — Compare  Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  345,  and  L  68. 

§  "Le  Sr.  de  Berlaymont prononca  par  grande  colere  lea  parolles  memo 

rabies  que  firent  changer  de  nom  aux  gentilshommes  confederez Et  com- 
ment, Madame,  votre  Alteze  at  ello  crainte  de  ces  gueux? Parle  Dieu  vivant, 

qui  croirait  mon  conseil  leur  Requeste  seroit  appostille'e  a  belles  bastonnades,  et 
le3  ferions  descendre  les  degres  de  la  court  plus  vistement  qu'ila  les  ont  montes." 
— Pontus  Payen,  ii,  MS. 


516  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

Aremberg  was  for  ordering  "  their  reverences,  the  confeder 
ates,"  to  quit  Brussels  without  delay.*  The  conversation 
carried  on  in  so  violent  a  key,  might  not  unnaturally  have 
been  heard  by  such  of  the  gentlemen  as  had  not  yet  left  the 
grand  hall  adjoining  the  council  chamber.  The  meeting  of 
the  council  was  then  adjourned  for  an  hour  or  two,  to  meet 
again  in  the  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  deliberately 
upon  the  answer  to  be  given  to  the  Request.  Meanwhile, 
many  of  the  confederates  were  swaggering  about  the  streets, 
talking  very  bravely  of  the  scene  which  had  just  occurred,  and 
it  is  probable,  boasting  not  a  little  of  the  effect  which  their 
demonstration  would  produce.f  As  they  passed  by  the  house 
of  Berlaymont,  that  nobleman,  standing  at  his  window  in  com- 
pany with  Count  Aremberg,  is  said  to  have  repeated  his  jest. 
"  There  go  our  fine  beggars  again,"  said  he.  "  Look,  I  pray 
you,  with  what  bravado  they  are  passing  before  us  \"% 

*  Pontus  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 

\  "  Allerent  faire  la  piaffe  par  la  ville repartis  en  diverses  bandes,"  etc. — ■ 

Pontus  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 

\  "Voilanos  beaux  gueux,"  dict-il,  Regardez,  jo  vous  prie,  avec  quelle  bra- 
vado ils  passent  devant  nous." — Ibid. 

Notwithstanding  the  scepticism  of  M.  Gachard  (Note  sur  l'origine  du  nom  do 
Gueux ;  t.  xiii.  des  Bulletins  de  la  Com.  Roy.  d'Histoire),  it  is  probable  that  tho 
Seigneur  de  Berlaymont  will  retain  the  reputation  of  originating  the  famous  name 
of  the  "beggars."  M.  Gachard  cites  Wesembeck,  Bor,  Le  Petit,  Meteren,  among 
contemporaries,  and  Strada  and  Vander  Vynckt  among  later  writers,  as  having 
sanctioned  the  anecdote  in  which  tho  taunt  of  Berlaymont  is  recorded.  Tho 
learned  and  acute  critic  is  disposed  to  question  the  accuracy  of  the  report,  both 
upon  &  priori  grounds,  and  because  there  is  no  mention  made  of  the  circumstance 
either  in  tho  official  or  confidential  correspondence  of  Duchess  Margaret  with  tho 
King.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  Duchess  in  her  agitation  did  not  catch 
tho  expression  of  Berlaymont,  or  did  not  understand  it,  or  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  10  chronicle  it,  if  she  did.  It  must  be  remembered  that  she  was  herself 
not  very  familiar  with  the  French  language,  and  that  she  was  writing  to  a  man 
who  thought  that  "pistolle  meant  some  kind  of  knife."  She  certainly  did  not 
and  could  not  report  every  thing  said  upon  that  memorable  occasion.  On  tho 
other  hand,  some  of  the  three  hundred  gentlemen  present  might  have  heard 
and  understood  better  than  Madame  de  Parma  the  sarcasm  of  tho  finance 
minister,  whether  it  were  uttered  upon  their  arrival  in  the  council  chamber, 
or  during  their  withdrawal  into  tho  hall.  The  testimony  of  Pontus  Payen — 
a  contemporary  almost  always  well  informed,  and  one  whose  position  as  a 
Catholic   Walloon,   noble    and    official,   necessarily  brought    him    into    contact 


1566.]  APOSTILLES   AND   REJOINDERS.  517 

On  the  6th  of  April,  Brederode,  attended  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  his  companions,  again  made  his  appearance  at  the  pal- 
ace. He  then  received  the  petition,  which  was  returned  to  him 
with  an  apostille  or  commentaiy  to  this  effect : — Her  Highness 
would  despatch  an  envoy  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  his  Maj- 
esty to  grant  the  Request.  Every  thing  worthy  of  the  King's 
unaffected  (naive)  and  customary  benignity  might  be  expected 
as  to  the  result.  The  Duchess  had  already,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  state  and  privy  councillors,  Fleece  knights  and 
governors,  commenced  a  project  for  moderating  the  edicts,  to 
be  laid  before  the  King.  As  her  authority  did  not  allow  her 
to  suspend  the  inquisition  and  placards,  she  was  confident  that 
the  petitioners  would  be  satisfied  with  the  special  application 
about  to  be  made  to  the  King.  Meantime,  she  would  give 
orders  to  all  inquisitors,  that  they  should  proceed  "  modestly 
and  discreetly"  in  their  office,  so  that  no  one  would  have  cause 
to  complain.  Her  Highness  hoped  likewise  that  the  gentle- 
men on  their  part  would  conduct  themselves  in  a  loyal  and 
satisfactory  manner  ;  thus  proving  that  they  had  no  intention 
to  make  innovations  in  the  ancient  religion  of  the  country.* 

Upon  the  next  day  but  one,  Monday,  8th  of  April,  Brede- 
rode, attended  by  a  number  of  the  confederates,  again  made 
his  appearance  at  the  palace,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  an 
answer  to  the  Apostille.  In  this  second  paper  the  confederates 
rendered  thanks  for  the  prompt  reply  which  the  Duchess  had 


with  many  personages  engaged  in  the  transactions  which  bo  describes — is 
worthy  of  much  respect.  It  is  to  bo  observed,  too,  that  this  manuscript  alludes 
to  a  repetition  by  Berlaymont  of  his  famous  sarcasm  upon  the  same  day.  To 
tho  names  of  contemporary  historians,  cited  by  M.  Gachard,  may  bo  added 
those  of  Vander  Haer,  ii.  314,  and  of  two  foreign  writers,  President  de  Thou 
(Hist.  Universelle,  V.  lib.  xx.  216),  and  Cardinal  Bentivoglio  (Guerra  di  Fiandra. 
ii.  32).  Hoofd,  not  a  contemporary  certainly,  but  born  within  four  or  five  years 
of  tho  event,  relates  the  anecdote,  but  throws  a  doubt  upon  its  accuracy. 
Kist.,  ii.  77.  Those  inclined  to  acquit  tho  Baron  of  having  perpetrated  the 
immortal  witticism,  will  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  if  they  think  it  a  rea- 
sonable one.  That  it  is  so,  they  have  the  high  authority  of  M.  Gachard  and  of 
the  Provost  Hoofd. 

*  Foppens,  324,  sqq.     Groen  v.   Prinst.,  ii.  84,  sqq.     Strada,  v.  186.     Bor,  ii. 
59.     Hopper,  74,  75. 


518  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

given  to  their  Bequest,  expressed  regrets  that  she  did  not  feel 
at  liberty  to  suspend  the  inquisition,  and  declared  their  confi- 
dence that  she  would  at  once  give  such  orders  to  the  inquisi- 
tors and  magistrates  that  prosecutions  for  religious  matters 
should  cease,  until  the  King's  further  pleasure  should  be  de- 
clared. They  professed  themselves  desirous  of  maintaining 
whatever  regulations  should  be  thereafter  established  by  his 
Majesty,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  states-general,  for 
the  security  of  the  ancient  religion,  and  promised  to  conduct 
themselves  generally  in  such  wise  that  her  Highness  would 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  them.  They,  moreover, 
requested  that  the  Duchess  would  cause  the  Petition  to  be 
printed  in  authentic  form  by  the  government  printer.* 

The  admission  that  the  confederates  would  maintain  the 
ancient  religion  had  been  obtained,  as  Margaret  informed  her 
brother,  through  the  dexterous  management  of  Hoogstraaten, 
without  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  petitioners  that  the  prop- 
osition for  such  a  declaration  came  from  her."j" 

The  Duchess  replied  by  word  of  mouth  to  the  second  ad- 
dress thus  made  to  her  by  the  confederates,  that  she  could  not 
go  beyond  the  Apostille  which  she  had  put  on  record.  She 
had  already  caused  letters  for  the  inquisitors  and  magistrates 
to  be  drawn  up.  The  minutes  for  those  instructions  should  be 
laid  before  the  confederates  by  Count  Hoogstraaten  and  Sec- 
retary Berty.  As  for  the  printing  of  their  petition,  she  was 
willing  to  grant  their  demand,  and  would  give  orders  to  that 
effect."]; 

The  gentlemen  having  received  this  answer,  retired  into 
the  great  hall.  After  a  few  minutes'  consultation,  however, 
they  returned  to  the  council  chamber,  where  the  Seigneur 
d'Esquerdes,  one  of  their  number,  addressed  a  few  parting 
words,  in  the  name  of  his  associates,  to  the  Begent ;  con- 
cluding  with   a   request    that    she   would   declare   the   con- 


*  Bor,  ii.  GO.     Hopper,  74,  75.     Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  ii.  86,  87.    Fop- 
pens,  Supplement,  ii.  333. 

f  Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  339.     (Letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma), 
j  Ibid.,  ii.  335,  336.     Bor.  ii.  60,  61. 


1566.]  THE   BANQUET   AT    CULEMBUKG   HOUSE.  519 

federates  to  have  done  no  act,  and  made  no  demonstration, 
inconsistent  with  their  duty  and  with  a  perfect  respect  for  his 
Majesty. 

To  this  demand  the  Duchess  answered  somewhat  drily 
that  she  could  not  be  judge  in  such  a  cause.  Time  and 
their  future  deeds,  she  observed,  could  only  bear  witness 
as  to  their  purposes.  As  for  declarations  from  her,  they 
must  be  satisfied  with  the  Apostille  which  they  had  already 
received.* 

With  this  response,  somewhat  more  tart  than  agreeable,  the 
nobles  were  obliged  to  content  themselves,  and  they  accord- 
ingly took  their  leave. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  they  had  been  disposed  to  slide 
rather  cavalierly  over  a  good  deal  of  ground  towards  the 
great  object  which  they  had  in  view.  Certainly  the  petitio 
principii  was  a  main  feature  of  their  logic.  They  had,  in 
their  second  address,  expressed  perfect  confidence  as  to  two 
very  considerable  concessions.  The  Duchess  was  practi- 
cally to  suspend  the  inquisition,  although  she  had  declared 
herself  without  authority  for  that  purpose.  The  King, 
who  claimed,  de  jure  and  de  facto,  the  whole  legislative 
power,  was  thenceforth  to  make  laws  on  religious  matters  by 
and  with  the  consent  of  the  states-general.  Certainly,  these 
ends  were  very  laudable,  and  if  a  civil  and  religious  revolution 
could  have  been  effected  by  a  few  gentlemen  going  to  court  in 
fine  clothes  to  present  a  petition,  and  by  sitting  down  to  a 
tremendous  banquet  afterwards,  Brederode  and  his  associates 
were  the  men  to  accomplish  the  task.  Unfortunately,  a  sea 
of  blood  and  long  years  of  conflict  lay  between  the  nation  and 
the  promised  land,  which  for  a  moment  seemed  so  nearly 
within  reach. 

Meantime  the  next  important  step  in  Brederode's  eyes  was 
a  dinner.  He  accordingly  invited  the  confederates  to  a  mag- 
nificent repast  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  prepared  in  the 
Culemburg  mansion.     Three  hundred  guests  sat  down,  upon 


*  Bor,  Hoofd,  Strada,  ubi  sup. 


520  THE   RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [15G6 

the  8th  of  April,  to  this  luxurious  banquet,  which  was  destined 
to  become  historical.* 

The  board  glittered  with  silver  and  gold.  The  wine  cir- 
culated with  more  than  its  usual  rapidity  among  the  band  of 
noble  Bacchanals,  who  were  never  weary  of  drinking  the 
healths  of  Brederode,  of  Orange,  and  of  Egmont.  It  was 
thought  that  the  occasion  imperiously  demanded  an  extraor- 
dinary carouse,  and  the  political  events  of  the  past  three  days 
lent  an  additional  excitement  to  the  wine.  There  was  an 
earnest  discussion  as  to  an  appropriate  name  to  be  given  to 
their  confederacy.  Should  they  call  themselves  the  "  Society 
of  Concord,"  the  restorers  of  lost  liberty,  or  by  what  other 
attractive  title  should  the  league  be  baptized  ?  Brederode 
was,  however,  already  prepared  to  settle  the  question.  He 
knew  the  value  of  a  popular  and  original  name  ;  he  possessed 
the  instinct  by  which  adroit  partisans  in  every  age  have  been 
accustomed  to  convert  the  reproachful  epithets  of  their  oppo- 
nents into  watchwords  of  honor,  and  he  had  already  made  his 
preparations  for  a  startling  theatrical  effect.  Suddenly,  amid 
the  din  of  voices,  he  arose,  with  all  his  rhetorical  powers  at 
command.  He  recounted  to  the  company  the  observations 
which  the  Seigneur  de  Berlaymont  was  reported  to  have  made 
to  the  Duchess,  upon  the  presentation  of  the  Bequest,  and  the 
name  which  he  had  thought  fit  to  apply  to  them  collectively,  f 
Most  of  the  gentlemen  then  heard  the  memorable  sarcasm 


*  Strada,  v.  186-188.  Iloofd,  h.  11.  Bentivoglio,  ii.  32  Vandev  Vynckf,  t 
265-267.  f  Pontus  Payen,  ii.,  MS. 

The  manuscript,  entitled,  "  Pieces  concernant  les  troubles  clos  Pays-Bas,"  be- 
longing to  the  Gerard  Collection  m  the  Archives  of  the  Hagua,  and  ascribed  to 
Weyenburg,  gives  a  similar  account ;  furnishing,  although  Berlaymont's  name  ia 
not  actually  mentioned,  an  additional  contemporary  authority  to  the  accuracy  of 
the  commonly-received  narrative.  ;iLe  Sgr.  de  Brederode  fit  un  festin  mag- 
nifique,  ou  se  trouverent  300  gentilshommes,  lesquels  se  firent  appeller  gueulx,  ne 
scay  l'occasion  pourquoy,  aultrement  qu'aulcuns  disent  quele  source  et  origino  tn 
seroit  qu'en  presentant  leur  reqte,  un  chevalier  de  Tordre  des  principaulx  du  con- 
seil  de  son  alteze  eust  a  dire,  'Madame,  ne  craignez  rien  se  sont  Gueulx  et  gens 
de  petit  pouvoir,  et  de  faict  les  dits  gentilshommes  de  la  ligue  s'entre  appellerent 
ordinairement  les  gueulx." — Compare  Strada,  Hoofd,  ubi  sup. 


1566.]  VIVENT   LES   GUEUX.  521 

for  the  first  time.  Great  was  the  indignation  of  all  that  the 
state  councillor  should  have  dared  to  stigmatize  as  beggars 
a  band  of  gentlemen  with  the  best  blood  of  the  land  in  their 
veins.  Brederode,  on  the  contrary,  smoothing  their  anger, 
assured  them  with  good  humor  that  nothing  could  be  more 
fortunate.  "  They  call  us  beggars  !"  said  he  ;  "  let  us  accept 
the  name.  We  will  contend  with  the  inquisition,  but  remain 
loyal  to  the  King,  even  till  compelled  to  wear  the  beggar's 
sack." 

He  then  beckoned  to  one  of  his  pages,  who  brought  him 
a  leathern  wallet,  such  as  was  worn  at  that  day  by  professional 
mendicants,  together  with  a  large  wooden  bowl,  which  also 
formed  part  of  their  regular  appurtenances.  Brederode  imme- 
diately hung  the  wallet  around  his  neck,  filled  the  bowl  with 
wine,  lifted  it  with  both  hands,  and  drained  it  at  a  draught. 
"  Long  live  the  beggars  !"  he  cried,  as  he  wiped  his  beard  and 
set  the  bowl  down.  "  Vivent  les  gueulx."  Then  for  the  first 
time,  from  the  lips  of  those  reckless  nobles  rose  the  famous  cry, 
which  was  so  often  to  ring  over  land  and  sea,  amid  blazing 
cities,  on  blood-stained  decks,  through  the  smoke  and  carnage 
of  many  a  stricken  field.  The  humor  of  Brederode  was  hailed 
with  deafening  shouts  of  applause.  The  Count  then  threw 
the  wallet  around  the  neck  of  his  nearest  neighbor,  and  handed 
him  the  wooden  bowl.  Each  guest,  in  turn,  donned  the  men- 
dicant's knapsack.  Pushing  aside  his  golden  goblet,  each 
filled  the  beggars'  bowl  to  the  brim,  and  drained  it  to  the  beg- 
gars' health.  Roars  of  laughter,  and  shouts  of  "  Vivent  les 
gueulx"  shook  the  walls  of  the  stately  mansion,  as  they  were 
doomed  never  to  shake  again.  The  shibboleth  was  invented. 
The  conjuration  which  they  had  been  anxiously  seeking  was 
found.  Their  enemies  had  provided  them  with  a  spell,  which 
was  to  prove,  in  after  days,  potent  enough  to  start  a  spirit 
from  palace  or  hovel,  forest  or  wrave,  as  the  deeds  of  the  "  wild 
beggars,"  the  "  wood  beggars,"  and  the  "  beggars  of  the  sea" 
taught  Philip  at  last  to  understand  the  nation  which  he  had 
driven  to  madness. 

When  the  wallet  and  bowl  had  made  the  circuit  of  the 


522  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

table,  they  were  suspended  to  a  pillar  in  the  hall.  Each  of 
the  company  in  succession  then  threw  some  salt  into  his  gob- 
let, and,  placing  himself  under  these  symbols  of  the  brother- 
hood, repeated  a  jingling  distich,  produced  impromptu  for  the 
occasion. 

By  this  salt,  by  this  bread,  by  this  wallet  we  swear, 

These  beggars  ne'er  will  change,  though  all  the  world  should  stare.* 

This  ridiculous  ceremony  completed  the  rites  by  which  the 
confederacy  received  its  name  ;  but  the  banquet  was  by  no 
means  terminated.  The  uproar  became  furious.  The  younger 
and  more  reckless  nobles  abandoned  themselves  to  revelry, 
which  would  have  shamed  heathen  Saturnalia.  They  renewed 
to  each  other,  every  moment,  their  vociferous  oaths  of  fidelity 
to  the  common  cause,  drained  huge  beakers  to  the  beggars' 
health,  turned  their  caps  and  doublets  inside  out,  danced  upon 
chairs  and  tables,  f  Several  addressed  each  other  as  Lord  Ab- 
bot, or  Keverend  Prior,  of  this  or  that  religious  institution, 
thus  indicating  the  means  by  which  some  of  them  hoped  to 
mend  their  broken  fortunes.  J 

While  the  tumult  was  at  its  heisrht,  the  Prince  of  Orange 
with  Counts  Horn  and  Egmont  entered  the  apartment.  They 
had  been  dining  quietly  with  Mansfeld,  who  was  confined  to 
his  house  with  an  inflamed  eye,§  and  they  were  on  their  way 
to  the  council  chamber,  where  the  sessions  were  now  pro- 
longed nightly  to  a  late  hour.  Knowing  that  Hoogstraaten, 
somewhat  against  his  will,  had  been  induced  to  be  present  at 
the  banquet,  they  had  come  round  by  the  way  of  Culemburg 
House,  to  induce  him  to  retire.  ||  They  were  also  disposed,  if 
possible,  to  abridge  the  festivities  which  their  influence  would 
have  been  powerless  to  prevent. 

These  great  nobles,  as  soon  as  they  made  their  appear- 
ance, were  surrounded  by  a   crew  of  "  beggars,"  maddened 


°  "  Par  le  sel,  par  le  pain,  par  la  besache, 

Les  gueulx  ne  changeront  quoy  qu'on  se  fache." 

Pontus  Payen  MS.     Yander  Haer. 
f  Vander  Haer,  315.  \  Pontus  Payen  MS. 

§  Proces  du  Comte  de  Homes.     Foppens,  i.  161.  J  Ibid.,  i.  160-162. 


1566.]  COSTUME   OF   THE   BEGGARS.  523 

and  dripping  with  their  recent  baptism  of  wine,  who  com- 
pelled them  to  drink  a  cup  amid  shouts  of  "  Vivent  le  roi  et 
Us  gueulx!"  The  meaning  of  this  cry  they  of  course  could 
not  understand,  for  even  those  who  had  heard  Berlaymont's 
contemptuous  remarks,  might  not  remember  the  exact  term 
which  he  had  used,  and  certainly  could  not  be  aware  of  the 
importance  to  which  it  had  just  been  elevated.  As  for  Horn, 
he  disliked  and  had  long  before  quarrelled  with  Brederode,* 
had  prevented  many  persons  from  signing  the  Compromise, 
and,  although  a  guest  at  that  time  of  Orange,  was  in  the 
habit  of  retiring  to  bed  before  supper,  f  to  avoid  the  com- 
pany of  many  who  frequented  the  house.  Yet  his  presence 
for  a  few  moments,  with  the  best  intentions,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  this  famous  banquet,  was  made  one  of  the  most 
deadly  charges  which  were  afterwards  drawn  up  against 
him  by  the  Crown.  The  three  seigniors  refused  to  be  seated, 
and  remained  but  for  a  moment,  "  the  length  of  a  Miserere," 
taking  with  them  Hoogstraaten  as  they  retired.  They  also 
prevailed  upon  the  whole  party  to  break  up  at  the  same  time, 
so  that  their  presence  had  served  at  least  to  put  a  conclusion 
to  the  disgraceful  riot.  When  they  arrived  at  the  council 
chamber  they  received  the  thanks  of  the  Duchess  for  what 
they  had  done.* 

Such  was  the  first  movement  made  by  the  members  of  the 
Compromise.  Was  it  strange  that  Orange  should  feel  little 
affinity  with  such  companions  ?  Had  he  not  reason  to  hesi- 
tate, if  the  sacred  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  could 
only  be  maintained  by  these  defenders  and  with  such  assist- 
ance ? 

The  "  beggars"  did  not  content  themselves  with  the  name 
alone  of  the  time-honored  fraternity  of  Mendicants  in  which 
they  had  enrolled  themselves.  Immediately  after  the  Culem- 
burg  banquet,  a  costume  for  the  confederacy  was  decided  upon. 


*  Yander  Haer,  315,  316. 

f  "  Ne  bougea  du  lict  quand  Ton  disnoit  ou  souppoit." — Proces  de  Hornea 
Foppens,  L  163. 

\  Foppens,  Supplement,  ubi  sup. 


524  THE    RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

These  young  gentlemen  discarding  gold  lace  and  velvet, 
thought  it  expedient  to  array  themselves  in  doublets  and 
hose  of  ashen  grey,  with  short  cloaks  of  the  same  color,  all 
of  the  coarsest  materials.  They  appeared  in  this  guise  in  the 
streets,  with  common  felt  hats  on  their  heads,  and  beggars' 
pouches  and  bowls  at  their  sides.  They  caused  also  medals 
of  lead  and  copper  to  be  struck,  bearing  upon  one  side  the 
head  of  Philip  ;  upon  the  reverse,  two  hands  clasped  within  a 
wallet,  with  the  motto,  "  Faithful  to  the  King,  even  to  wear- 
ing the  beggar's  sack."*  These  badges  they  wore  around 
their  necks,  or  as  buttons  to  their  hats.  As  a  further  dis- 
tinction they  shaved  their  beards  close,  excepting  the  mous- 
tachios,  which  were  left  long  and  pendent  in  the  Turkish 
fashion, f  that  custom,  as  it  seemed,  being  an  additional 
characteristic  of  Mendicants. 

Very  soon  after  these  events  the  nobles  of  the  league 
dispersed  from  the  capital  to  their  various  homes.  Brederodc 
rode  out  of  Brussels  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  cavaliers,  who 
saluted  the  concourse  of  applauding  spectators  with  a  dis- 
charge of  their  pistols.  Forty-three  gentlemen  accompanied 
him  to  Antwerp,  where  he  halted  for  a  night.  J  The  Duchess 
had  already  sent  notice  to  the  magistrates  of  that  city  of  his 
intended  visit,  and  warned  them  to  have  an  eye  upon  his  pro- 
ceedings. "  The  great  beggar,"§  as  Hoogstraaten  called  him, 
conducted  himself,  however,  with  as  much  propriety  as  could 
be  expected.  Four  or  five  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  thronged 
about  the  hotel  where  he  had  taken  up  his  quarters.  He  ap- 
peared at  a  window  with  his  wooden  bowl,  filled  with  wine,  in 
his  hands,  and  his  wallet  at  his  side.  He  assured  the  multi- 
tude that  he  was  ready  to  die  to  defend  the  good  people  of 
Antwerp  and  of  all  the   Netherlands  against  the  edicts  and 


*  Pontus  Payen  MS.  Pieces  concernant,  etc.,  MS. — Comp.  Strada;  Hoofd; 
Bentivoglio ;  Vander  Haer,  ubi  sup.;  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  409. 

f  "Laissans  en  dessoubs  les  narines  longues  mourmerstacques  a  la  turc- 
quesque." — Pieces  concernant  l'Hist.  des  P.  B.  etc.,  MS.     Compare  Strada,  v.  189, 

%  Strada,  v.  19. 

§  "Le  grant  geu." — Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  184. 


1566.]  CHARGE   AGAINST   BREDERODE.  525 

the  inquisition.  Meantime  lie  drank  their  healths,  and  begged 
all  who  accepted  the  pledge  to  hold  up  their  hands.  The  pop- 
ulace, highly  amused,  held  up  and  clapped  their  hands  as 
honest  Brederode  drained  his  bowl,  and  were  soon  afterwards 
persuaded  to  retire  in  great  good  humor.* 

These  proceedings  were  all  chronicled  and  transmitted  to 
Madrid.  It  was  also  both  publicly  reported  and  secretly  regis- 
tered, that  Brederode  had  eaten  capons  and  other  meat  at  Ant- 
werp, upon  Good  Friday,  which  happened  to  be  the  day  of  his 
visit  to  that  city.  He  denied  the  charge,  however,  with  ludi- 
crous vehemence.  "  They  who  have  told  Madame  that  we  ate 
meat  in  Antwerp,"  he  wrote  to  Count  Louis,  "  have  lied  wick- 
edly and  miserably,  twenty-four  feet  down  in  their  throats."f 
He  added  that  his  nephew,  Charles  Mansfeld,  who,  notwith- 
standing the  indignant  prohibition  of  his  father,  had  assisted 
at  the  presentation  of  the  Request,  and  was  then  in  his  uncle's 
company  at  Antwerp,  had  ordered  a  capon,  which  Brederode 
had  countermanded.  "  They  told  me  afterwards,"  said  he,  "  that 
my  nephew  had  broiled  a  sausage  in  his  chamber.  I  suppose 
that  he  thought  himself  in  Spain,  where  they  allow  themselves 
such  dainties."^ 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  these  trifles  are  beneath  the  dig- 
nity of  history.  Matters  like  these  filled  the  whole  soul  of 
Philip,  swelled  the  bills  of  indictment  for  thousands  of  higher 
and  better  men  than  Brederode,  and  furnished  occupation  as 
well  for  secret  correspondents  and  spies  as  for  the  most  digni- 
fied functionaries  of  Government.  Capons  or  sausages  on  Good 
Friday,  the  Psalms  of  Clement  Marot,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  in  the  vernacular,  led  to  the  rack,  the  gibbet,  and  the 
stake,  but  ushered  in  a  Avar  against  the  inquisition  which  was 
to  last  for  eighty  years.  Brederode  was  not  to  be  the  hero  of 
that  party  which  he  disgraced  by  his  buffoonery.  Had  he 
lived,  he  might,  perhaps,  like  many  of  his  confederates,  have 
redeemed,  by  his  bravery  in  the  field,  a  character  which  his 

*  Strada,  v.  191. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  410,  411.     Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives  etc., 
ii.  98,  99.  t  Ibid. 


526  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

orgies  had  rendered  despicable.  He  now  left  Antwerp  for  the 
north  of  Holland,  where,  as  he  soon  afterwards  reported  to 
Count  Louis,  "  the  beggars  were  as  numerous  as  the  sands  on 
the  sea-shore."* 

His  "  nephew  Charles,"  two  months  afterwards,  obeyed  his 
father's  injunction,  and  withdrew  formally  from  the  con- 
federacy.f 

Meantime  the  rumor  had  gone  abroad  that  the  Request  of 
the  nobles  had  already  produced  good  fruit,  that  the  edicts 
were  to  be  mitigated,  the  inquisition  abolished,  liberty  of  con- 
science eventually  to  prevail.  "  Upon  these  reports,"  says  a 
contemporary,  "  all  the  vermin  of  exiles  and  fugitives  for 
religion,  as  well  as  those  who  had  kept  in  concealment,  began 
to  lift  up  their  heads  and  thrust  forth  their  horns."J  It  was 
known  that  Margaret  of  Parma  had  ordered  the  inquisitors 
and  magistrates  to  conduct  themselves  "  modestly  and  dis- 
creetly." It  was  known  that  the  privy  council  was  hard  at  work 
upon  the  project  for  "  moderating"  the  edicts.  Modestly  and 
discreetly,  Margaret  of  Parma,  almost  immediately  after  giving 
these  orders,  and  while  the  "  moderation"  was  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  lawyers,  informed  her  brother  that  she  had  given  personal 
attention  to  the  case  of  a  person  who  had  snatched  the  holy 
wafer  from  the  priest's  hand  at  Oudenarde.  This  "  quidam," 
as  she  called  him — for  his  name  was  beneath  the  cognizance 
of  an  Emperor's  bastard  daughter — had  by  her  orders  received 
rigorous  and  exemplary  justice.§  And  what  was  the 
"  rigorous  and  exemplary  justice"  thus  inflicted  upon  the 
"  quidam  ?"  The  procurator  of  the  neighboring  city  of 
Tournay  has  enabled  us  to  answer.  The  young  man,  who  was 
a  tapestry  weaver,  Hans  Tiskaen  by  name,  |j  had,  upon  the  30th 


*  "  Les  gens  sont  par  icy  seme  comme  la  sable  du  Ion  de  la  mer." — Groen  v. 
Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  130. 

f  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  421.  \  Renom  de  France,  MS. 

§  "  Si  comme  ayant  commande  que  la  justice  se  faict  d'un  quidam  a  Aude- 
naerde,  qui  ces  jours  ayant  prinse  la  saincte  hostie  consacree  hors  des  mains  du 
prestre,  l'a  jectee  par  terre,  duquel  s'est  faict  rigoureuse  et  exemplaire  justice." — 
Reiffenberg,  Correspondance  Marg.  dAutr.,  45.  |  Bor,  ii.  62. 


1566.]  MODEKATION.  527 

May,  thrown  the  holy  wafer  upon  the  ground.  For  this  crime, 
which  was  the  same  as  that  committed  on  Christmas-day  of 
the  previous  year  by  Bertrand  le  Bias,  at  Tournay,  he  now 
met  with  a  similar  although  not  quite  so  severe  a  punishment. 
Having  gone  quietly  home  after  doing  the  deed,  he  was  pur- 
sued, arrested,  and  upon  the  Saturday  ensuing  taken  to  the 
market-place  of  Oudenarde.  Here  the  right  hand  with  which 
he  had  committed  the  offence  was  cut  off,  and  he  was  then 
fastened  to  the  stake  and  burned  to  death  over  a  slow  fire. 
He  was  fortunately  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  tor- 
ment, but  he  persisted  in  his  opinions,  and  called  on  God  for 
support  to  his  last  breath.* 

This  homely  tragedy  was  enacted  at  Oudenarde,  the  birth- 
place of  Duchess  Margaret.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the 
puissant  Charles  the  Fifth,  but  her  mother  was  only  the 
daughter  of  a  citizen  of  Oudenarde  ;  of  a  "  quidam"  like  the 
nameless  weaver  who  had  thus  been  burned  by  her  express 
order.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  circum- 
stance could  operate  in  so  great  a  malefactor's  favor.  More- 
over, at  the  same  moment,  she  sent  orders  that  a  like  punish- 
ment should  be  inflicted  upon  another  person  then  in  a  Flem- 
ish prison,  for  the  crime  of  anabaptism.f 

The  privy  council,  assisted  by  thirteen  knights  of  the  Fleece, 
had  been  hard  at  work,  and  the  result  of  their  wisdom  was 
at  last  revealed  in  a  "  moderation"  consisting  of  fifty-three 

articles.^ 

What  now  was  the  substance  of  those  fifty-three  articles, 
so  painfully  elaborated  by  Viglius,  so  handsomely  drawn  up 
into  shape  by  Councillor  d'Assonleville  ?  Simply  to  substitute 
the  halter  for  the  fagot.  After  elimination  of  all  verbiage, 
this  fact  was  the  only  residuum.§  It  was  most  distinctly 
laid    down   that   all  forms   of    religion   except    the    Roman 


*  Pasquier  de  la  Barre.     Recoeil,  etc.,  MS.  in  the  Brussels  Archives,  f.  1670. 
f  Reiffenberg,  Correspondance,  45. 
\  Ep.  ad  Hopperum,  459. 

§  See  the  text  of  the  proposed  Moderation  in  fifty-three  articles,  in  Bor,  L  C 
64,  65,  66. 


528  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

Catholic  were  forbidden  ;  that  no  public  or  secret  conventicles 
were  to  be  allowed  ;  that  all  heretical  writings  were  to  be  sup- 
pressed ;  that  all  curious  inquiries  into  the  Scriptures  were  to 
be  prohibited.  Persons  who  infringed  these  regulations  were 
divided  into  two  classes — the  misleaders  and  the  misled. 
There  was  an  affectation  of  granting  mercy  to  persons  in  the 
second  category,  while  death  was  denounced  upon  those  com- 
posing the  first.  It  was  merely  an  affectation  ;  for  the  ram- 
bling statute  was  so  open  in  all  its  clauses,  that  the  Juggernaut 
car  of  persecution  could  be  driven  through  the  whole  of  them, 
whenever  such  a  course  should  seem  expedient.  Every  man  or 
woman  in  the  Netherlands  might  be  placed  in  the  list  of  the 
misleaders,  at  the  discretion  of  the  officials.  The  pretended 
mercy  to  the  misguided  was  a  mere  delusion.  The  superin- 
tendents, preachers,  teachers,  ministers,  sermon-makers,  dea- 
cons, and  other  officers,  were  to  be  executed  with  the  halter, 
with  confiscation  of  their  whole  property.  So  much  was  very 
plain.  Other  heretics,  however,  who  would  abjure  their  heresy 
before  the  bishop,  might  be  pardoned  for  the  first  offence,  but 
if  obstinate,  were  to  be  banished.  This  seemed  an  indication 
of  mercy,  at  least  to  the  repentant  criminals.  But  who  were 
these  "  other"  heretics  ?  All  persons  who  discussed  religious 
matters  were  to  be  put  to  death.  All  persons,  not  having 
studied  theology  at  a  "  renowned  university,"  who  searched 
and  expounded  the  Scriptures,  were  to  be  put  to  death.  All 
persons  in  whose  houses  any  act  of  the  perverse  religion 
should  be  committed,  were  to  be  put  to  death.  All  persons 
who  harbored  or  protected  ministers  and  teachers  of  any  sect, 
were  to  be  put  to  death.  All  the  criminals  thus  carefully 
enumerated  were  to  be  executed,  whether  repentant  or  not. 
If,  however,  they  abjured  their  errors,  they  were  to  be  be- 
headed instead  of  being  strangled.  Thus  it  was  obvious  that 
almost  any  heretic  might  be  brought  to  the  halter  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  idea  of  death  by  the  halter  or  the 
axe  was  less  shocking  to  the  imagination  than  that  of  being 
burned  or  buried  alive.     In  this  respect,  therefore,  the  edicts 


1566.]  DEPAKTUKE   OF   MONTIGNY.  529 

were  softened  by  the  proposed  "  Moderation."  It  would, 
however,  always  be  difficult  to  persuade  any  considerable 
number  of  intelligent  persons,  that  the  infliction  of  a  vio- 
lent death,  by  whatever  process,  on  account  of  religious 
opinions,  was  an  act  of  clemency.  The  Netherlander  were, 
however,  to  be  persuaded  into  this  belief.  The  draft  of 
the  new  edict  was  ostentatiously  called  the  "  Moderatie,"  or 
the  "  Moderation."  It  was  very  natural,  therefore,  that  the 
common  people,  by  a  quibble,  which  is  the  same  in  Flemish 
as  in  English,  should  call  the  proposed  "  Moderation"  the 
"  Murderation."*  The  rough  mother- wit  of  the  people  had 
already  characterized  and  annihilated  the  project,  while  dull 
formalists  were  carrying  it  through  the  preliminary  stages. 

A  vote  in  favor  of  the  project  having  been  obtained  from  the 
estates  of  Artois,  Hainault,  and  Flanders,  the  instructions  for 
the  envoys,  Baron  Montigny  and  Marquis  Berghen,  were  made 
out  in  conformity  to  the  scheme.f  Egmont  had  declined  the 
mission,^:  not  having  reason  to  congratulate  himself  upon  the 
diplomatic  success  of  his  visit  to  Spain  in  the  preceding  year. 
The  two  nobles  who  consented  to  undertake  the  office  were 
persuaded  into  acceptance  sorely  against  their  will.  They 
were  aware  that  their  political  conduct  since  the  King's  de- 
parture from  the  country  had  not  always  been  deemed  satis- 
factory at  Madrid,  but  they  were,  of  course,  far  from  suspect- 
ing the  true  state  of  the  royal  mind.  They  were  both  as  sin- 
cere Catholics  and  as  loyal  gentlemen  as  Granvelle,  but  they 
were  not  aware  how  continuously,  during  a  long  course  of 
years,  that  personage  had  represented  them  to  Philip  as  rene- 
gades and  rebels.  They  had  maintained  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  state,  and  they  had  declined  to  act  as  execution- 
ers for  the  inquisition,  but  they  were  yet  to  learn  that  such 
demonstrations  amounted  to  high  treason. 

Montigny  departed,  on  the  29th  May,  from  Brussels.§  He 
left   the  bride  to  whom  he  had  been  wedded  amid  scenes 


*  Meteren,  ii.  38.     Hoofd,  iii.  81. 

\  Correspondance  do  Philippe  IT.,  i.  412.  \  Ibid.,  407.  §  Ibid.,  418. 

vol.  I.  34 


530  THE   RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

of  festivity,  the  preceding  autumn — the  unborn  child  who  was 
never  to  behold  its  father's  face.  He  received  warnings  in 
Paris,  by  which  he  scorned  to  profit.  The  Spanish  ambassa- 
dor in  that  city  informed  him  that  Philip's  wrath  at  the 
recent  transactions  in  the  Netherlands  was  high.  He  was 
most  significantly  requested,  by  a  leading  personage  in  France, 
to  feign  illness,  or  to  take  refuge  in  any  expedient  by 
which  he  might  avoid  the  fulfilment  of  his  mission.*  Such 
hints  had  no  effect  in  turning  him  from  his  course,  and  he 
proceeded  to  Madrid,  where  he  arrived  on  the  17th  of  June.f 

His  colleague  in  the  mission,  Marquis  Berghen,  had  been 
prevented  from  setting  forth  at  the  same  time,  by  an  accident 
which,  under  the  circumstances,  might  almost  seem  ominous. 
Walking  through  the  palace  park,  in  a  place  where  some 
gentlemen  were  playing  at  pall-mall,  he  was  accidentally 
struck  in  the  leg  by  a  wooden  ball.^  The  injury,  although 
trifling,  produced  so  much  irritation  and  fever  that  he  was 
confined  to  his  bed  for  several  weeks.  It  was  not  until  the  1st 
of  July§  that  he  was  able  to  take  his  departure  from  Brussels. 
Both  these  unfortunate  nobles  thus  went  forth  to  fulfil  that 
dark  and  mysterious  destiny  from  which  the  veil  of  three  cen- 
turies has  but  recently  been  removed. 

Besides  a  long  historical  discourse,  in  eighteen  chapters, 
delivered  by  way  of  instruction  to  the  envoys,  Margaret  sent 
a  courier  beforehand  with  a  variety  of  intelligence  concern- 
ing the  late  events.  Alonzo  del  Canto,  one  of  Philip's  spies 
in  the  Netherlands,  also  wrote  to  inform  the  King  that 
the  two  ambassadors  were  the  real  authors  of  all  the  troubles 
then  existing  in  the  country.||  Cardinal  Granvelle,  too,  re- 
newed his  previous  statements  in  a  confidential  communica- 
tion to  his  Majesty,  adding  that  no  persons  more  appropriate 
could  have  been  selected  than  Berghen  and  Montigny,  for 
they  knew  better  than  any  one  else  the    state  of  affairs  in 


*  Hoofd,  iii.  80.  f  Correspondance  do  Philippe  II.,  i.  426. 

X  Ibid.,  i.  412.     Hoofd,  ii.  SO.     Strada,  v.  195. 

§  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  42S,  429.  |  Ibid.,  i.  410,  411. 


1566.]  BERGHEN    AND    MONTIGXY.  531 

which  they  had  borne  the  principal  part.*  Nevertheless, 
Montigny,  upon  his  arrival  in  Madrid  on  the  17th  of  June, 
was  received  by  Philip  with  much  apparent  cordiality,  ad- 
mitted immediately  to  an  audience,f  and  assured  in  the 
strongest  terms  that  there  was  no  dissatisfaction  in  the  royal 
mind  against  the  seigniors,  whatever  false  reports  might  bo 
circulated  to  that  effect.  In  other  respects,  the  result  of  this 
and  of  his  succeeding  interviews  with  the  monarch  was 
sufficiently  meagre. 

It  could  not  well  be  otherwise.  The  mission  of  the  envoys 
was  an  elaborate  farce  to  introduce  a  terrible  tragedy.  They 
were  sent  to  procure  from  Philip  the  abolition  of  the  inqui- 
sition and  the  moderation  of  the  edicts.  At  the  very  moment, 
however,  of  all  these  legislative  and  diplomatic  arrangements, 
Margaret  of  Parma  was  in  possession  of  secret  letters  from 
Philip,  which  she  was  charged  to  deliver  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Sorrento,  papal  nuncio  at  the  imperial  court,  then  on  a  special 
visit  to  Brussels.  This  ecclesiastic  had  come  to  the  Nether- 
lands ostensibly  to  confer  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  upon  the 
affairs  of  his  principality,  to  remonstrate  with  Count  Culem- 
burg,  and  to  take  measures  for  the  reformation  of  the 
clergy.  The  real  object  of  his  mission,  however,  was  to 
devise  means  for  strengthening  the  inquisition  and  sup- 
pressing heresy  in  the  provinces.  Philip,  at  whose  request 
he  had  come,  had  charged  him  by  no  means  to  divulge  the 
secret,  as  the  King  was  anxious  to  have  it  believed  that  the 
ostensible  was  the  only  business  which  the  prelate  had  to 
perform  in  the  country.  Margaret  accordingly  delivered  to 
him  the  private  letters,  in  which  Philip  avowed  his  determ- 
ination to  maintain  the  inquisition  and  the  edicts  in  all  their 
rigor,  but  enjoined  profound  secrecy  upon  the  subject."!  The 
Duchess,  therefore,  who  knew  the  face  of  the  cards,  must  have 


*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  417. 

f  Ibid.,  i.  426.  Hopper,  78,  79,  states  that  the  envoys  were  indulged  with 
almost  daily  interviews. 

\  Reiffenberg,  Correspondance  do  Marg.  d'Aut.  58-61.  Correspondance  dc 
Philippe,  II.,  i.  422. 


532  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

thought  it  a  superfluous  task  to  continue  the  game,  which  to 
Philip's  cruel  but  procrastinating  temperament  was  perhaps  a 
pleasurable  excitement. 

The  scheme  for  mitigating  the  edicts  by  the  substitution  of 
strangling  for  burning,  was  not  destined  therefore  for  much 
success  either  in  Spain  or  in  the  provinces  ;  but  the  people 
by  whom  the  next  great  movement  was  made  in  the  drama 
of  the  revolt,  conducted  themselves  in  a  manner  to  shame  the 
sovereign  who  oppressed,  and  the  riotous  nobles  who  had 
undertaken  to  protect  their  liberties. 

At  this  very  moment,  in  the  early  summer  of  1566, 
many  thousands  of  burghers,  merchants,  peasants,  and  gen- 
tlemen, were  seen  mustering  and  marching  through  the  fields 
of  every  province,  armed  with  arquebus,  javelin,  pike  and 
broadsword.  For  what  purpose  were  these  gatherings  ? 
Only  to  hear  sermons  and  to  sing  hymns  in  the  open  air,  as 
it  was  unlawful  to  profane  the  churches  with  such  rites. 
This  was  the  first  great  popular  phase  of  the  Netherland 
rebellion.  Notwithstanding  the  edicts  and  the  inquisition 
with  their  daily  hecatombs,  notwithstanding  the  special  pub- 
lication at  this  time  throughout  the  country  by  the  Duchess 
Eegent  that  all  the  sanguinary  statutes  concerning  religion 
were  in  as  great  vigor  as  ever,*  notwithstanding  that  Mar- 
garet offered  a  reward  of  seven  hundred  crowns  to  the  man 
who  would  bring  her  a  preacher  dead  or  alive,f  the  popular 
thirst  for  the  exercises  of  the  reformed  religion  could  no 
longer  be  slaked  at  the  obscure  and  hidden  fountains  where 
their  priests  had  so  long  privately  ministered. 

Partly  emboldened  by  a  temporary  lull  in  the  persecution, 
partly  encouraged  by  the  presentation  of  the  Bequest  and  by 
the  events  to  which  it  had  given  rise,  the  Keformers  now 
came  boldly  forth  from  their  lurking  places  and  held  their 
religious  meetings  in  the  light  of  day.  The  consciousness  of 
numbers  and  of  right  had  brought  the  conviction  of  strength. 
The  audacity  of  the  Keformers  was  wonderful  to  the  mind  of 


Pontus  Payen  MS.     Pasquier  de  la  Barre  MS.  f  Pontus  Payen  MS. 


1566.]  CAMP    MEETINGS.  533 

President  Viglius,  who  could  find  no  language  strong  enough 
with  which  to  characterize  and  to  deplore  such  hlasphemous 
conduct.*  The  field-preaching  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  govern- 
ment to  spread  with  the  rapidity  of  a  malignant  pestilence. 
The  miasma  flew  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.  As  early  as 
1562,  there  had  been  public  preaching  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ypres.  The  executions  which  followed,  however,  had  for  the  time 
suppressed  the  practice  both  in  that  place  as  well  as  throughout 
Flanders  and  the  rest  of  the  provinces.  It  now  broke  forth  as 
by  one  impulse  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  In  the 
latter  part  of  June,  Hermann  Strycker  or  Modet,  a  monk  who 
had  renounced  his  vows  to  become  one  of  the  most  popular 
preachers  in  the  Reformed  Church,  addressed  a  congregation  of 
seven  or  eight  thousand  persons  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ghent.f  Peter  Dathenus,  another  unfrocked  monk,  preached 
at  various  places  in  West  Flanders,  with  great  effect.  A  man 
endowed  with  a  violent,  stormy  eloquence,  intemperate  as 
most  zealots,  he  was  then  rendering  better  services  to  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation  than  he  was  destined  to  do  at  later 
periods. 

But  apostate  priests  were  not  the  only  preachers.  To  the 
ineffable  disgust  of  the  conservatives  in  Church  and  State, 
there  were  men  with  little  education,  utterly  devoid  of  Hebrew, 
of  lowly  station — hatters,  curriers,  tanners,  dyers,  and  the 
like, — who  began  to  preach  also  ;  remembering,  unseasonably 
perhaps,  that  the  early  disciples,  selected  by  the  founder  of 
Christianity,  had  not  all  been  doctors  of  theology,  with 
diplomas  from  a  "renowned  university."  But  if  the  nature 
of  such  men  were  subdued  to  what  it  worked  in,  that  charge 
could  not  be  brought  against  ministers  with  the  learning  and 
accomplishments  of  Ambrose  Wille,  Marnier,  Guv  de  Bray, 
or  Francis  Junius,  the  man  whom  Scaliger  called  the  "greatest 
of  ail  theologians  since  the  days  of  the  apostles."  J  An  aris- 
tocratic sarcasm  could  not  be  levelled  against  Peregrine  de  la 


5  Ep  ad  Joach.  Hopperum,  362.  \  Brandt,  304,  305. 

%  Bakhuyzen  v.  d.  Brink  Het  Huwelijk,  110. 


534  THE    RISE   OF    THE   DUTCH   EEPUBLIC.  [1566. 

Grange,  of  a  noble  family  in  Provence,  with  the  fiery  blood  of 
southern  France  in  his  veins,  brave  as  his  nation,  learned, 
eloquent,  enthusiastic,  who  galloped  to  his  field-preaching  on 
horseback,  and  fired  a  pistol-shot  as  a  signal  for  his  congre- 
gation to  give  attention.* 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1566,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night, 
there  was  an  assemblage  of  six  thousand  people  near  Tour- 
nay,  at  the  bridge  of  Ernonville,  to  hear  a  sermon  from 
Ambrose  Wille,  a  man  who  had  studied  theology  in  Geneva, 
at  the  feet  of  Calvin,  and  who  now,  with  a  special  price  upon 
his  head,f  was  preaching  the  doctrines  he  had  learned.  Two 
days  afterwards,  ten  thousand  people  assembled  at  the  same 
spot,  to  hear  Peregrine  de  la  Grange.  Governor  Moulbais  thun- 
dered forth  a  proclamation  from  the  citadel,  warning  all  men 
that  the  edicts  were  as  rigorous  as  ever,  and  that  every  man, 
woman,  or  child  who  went  to  these  preachings,  was  incurring 
the  penalty  of  death.t  The  people  became  only  the  more 
ardent  and  excited.  Upon  Sunday,  the  seventh  of  July, 
twenty  thousand  persons  assembled  at  the  same  bridge  to  hear 
Ambrose  Wille.  One  man  in  three  was  armed.  Some  had 
arcpiebuses,  others  pistols,  pikes,  swords,  pitchforks,  poniards, 
clubs.  The  preacher,  for  whose  apprehension  a  fresh  reward 
had  been  offered,  was  escorted  to  his  pulpit  by  a  hundred 
mounted  troopers.  He  begged  his  audience  not  to  be  scared 
from  the  word  of  God  by  menace  ;  assured  them  that  although 
but  a  poor  preacher  himself,  he  held  a  divine  commission  ;  that 
he  had  no  fear  of  death  ;  that,  should  he  fall,  there  were  many 
better  than  he  to  supply  his  place,  and  fifty  thousand  men  to 
avenge  his  murder.  § 

The  Duchess  sent  forth  proclamations  by  hundreds.  She 
ordered  the  instant  suppression  of  these  armed  assemblies  and 
the  arrest  of  the  preachers.  But  of  what  avail  were  j)rocla- 
mations  against  such  numbers  with  weapons  in  their  hands. 
Why  irritate  to  madness  these  hordes  of  enthusiasts,  who  were 


*  Bakhuyzen,  127.     De  la  Barre  MS.,  f.  16.  f  Ibid.,  f.  13. 

$  De  la  Barre  MS.  §  Ibid, 


1566.]  SERMONS   IN   FIELDS.  535 

now  entirely  pacific,  and  who  marched  back  to  the  city,  after 
conclusion  of  divine  service,  with  perfect  decorum  ?  All 
classes  of  the  population  went  cagevly  to  the  sermons.  The 
gentry  of  the  place,  the  rich  merchants,  the  notables,  as  well 
as  the  humbler  artisans  and  laborers,  all  had  received  the  in- 
fection. The  professors  of  the  Reformed  religion  outnumbered 
the  Catholics  by  five  or  six  to  one.  On  Sundays  and  other 
holidays,  during  the  hours  of  service,  Tournay  was  literally 
emptied  of  its  inhabitants.  The  streets  were  as  silent  as  if 
war  or  pestilence  had  swept  the  place.  The  Duchess  sent 
orders,  but  she  sent  no  troops.  The  trained-bands  of  the  city, 
the  cross-bow-men  of  St.  Maurice,  the  archers  of  St.  Sebastian, 
the  sword-players  of  St.  Christopher,  could  not  be  ordered 
from  Tournay  to  suppress  the  preaching,  for  they  had  all 
gone  to  the  preaching  themselves.  How  idle,  therefore,  to 
send  peremptory  orders  without  a  matchlock  to  enforce  the 
command.0 

Throughout  Flanders  similar  scenes  were  enacted.  The 
meetings  were  encampments,  for  the  Reformers  now  came  to 
their  religious  services  armed  to  the  teeth,  determined,  if 
banished  from  the  churches,  to  defend  their  right  to  the  fields. 
Barricades  of  upturned  wagons,  branches,  and  planks,  were 
thrown  up  around  the  camps.  Strong  guards  of  mounted  men 
were  stationed  at  every  avenue.  Outlying  scouts  gave  notice 
of  approaching  danger,  and  guided  the  faithful  into  the 
enclosure.  Pedlers  and  hawkers  plied  the  trade  upon  which 
the  penalty  of  death  was  fixed,  and  sold  the  forbidden  hymn- 
books  to  all  who  chose  to  purchase.-]-  A  strange  and  contra- 
dictory spectacle  !  An  army  of  criminals  doing  deeds  which 
could  only  be  expiated  at  the  stake  ;  an  entrenched  rebellion, 
bearding  the  government  with  pike,  matchlock,  javelin  and 
barricade,  and  all  for  no  more  deadly  purpose  than  to  listen 
to  the  precepts  of  the  pacific  Jesus. 

Thus  the  preaching  spread  through  the  Walloon  provinces 
to   the   northern    Netherlands.      Towards  the  end   of  July, 


*  Do  la  Barre  MS.  \  Brandt,  i.  305.     Nic  Burgund.,  Hist,  Bclg..  iii.  213- 


536  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

an  apostate  monk,  of  singular  eloquence,  Peter  Gabriel 
by  name,  was  announced  to  preach  at  Overeen  near  Harlem.0 
This  was  the  first  field-meeting  which  had  taken  place 
in  Holland.  The  people  were  wild  with  enthusiasm  ;  the 
authorities  beside  themselves  with  apprehension.  People 
from  the  country  flocked  into  the  town  by  thousands.  The 
other  cities  were  deserted,  Harlem  was  filled  to  overflowing 
Multitudes  encamped  upon  the  ground  the  night  before. 
The  magistrates  ordered  the  gates  to  be  kept  closed  in  the 
morning  till  long  after  the  usual  hour.  It  was  of  no  avail. 
Bolts  and  bars  were  but  small  impediments  to  enthusiasts 
who  had  travelled  so  many  miles  on  foot  or  horseback  to 
listen  to  a  sermon.  They  climbed  the  walls,  swam  the  moat 
and  thronged  to  the  place  of  meeting  long  before  the  doors 
had  been  opened.  When  these  could  no  longer  be  kept 
closed  without  a  conflict,  for  which  the  magistrates  were  not 
prepared,  the  whole  population  poured  out  of  the  city  with  a 
single  impulse.f  Tens  of  thousands  were  assembled  upon  the 
field.  The  bulwarks  were  erected  as  usual,  the  guards  were 
posted,  the  necessary  precautions  taken.  But  upon  this  occa- 
sion, and  in  that  region  there  was  but  little  danger  to  be 
apprehended.  The  multitude  of  Reformers  made  the  edicts 
impossible,  so  long  as  no  foreign  troops  were  there  to  enforce 
them.  The  congregation  was  encamped  and  arranged  in  an 
orderly  manner.  The  women,  of  whom  there  were  many, 
were  placed  next  the  pulpit,  which,  upon  this  occasion, 
was  formed  of  a  couple  of  spears  thrust  into  the  earth,  sus- 
taining a  cross-piece,  against  which  the  preacher  might  lean 
his  back.  The  services  commenced  with  the  singing  of  a 
psalm  by  the  whole  vast  assemblage.  Clement  Marot's 
verses,  recently  translated  by  Dathenus,  were  then  new  and 
popular.  The  strains  of  the  monarch  minstrel,  chanted  thus 
in  their  homely  but  nervous  mother  tongue  by  a  multitude 
who  had  but  recently  learned  that  all  the  poetry  and  rapture 
of   devotion    were   not    irrevocably    coffined   with    a    buried 


*  Brandt,  320,  321.      Memorien  van  Laurens  Jacq.  Read,  f.  20,  21,  22,  apud 
Brandt.  f  Ibid. 


1566.]  VAST   ASSEMBLAGES.  537 

language,  or  immured  in  the  precincts  of  a  church,  had  never 
produced  a  more  elevating  effect.  No  anthem  from  the  world- 
renowned  organ  in  that  ancient  city  ever  awakened  more  lofty 
emotions  than  did  those  ten  thousand  human  voices  ring-ins: 
from  the  grassy  meadows  in  that  fervid  midsummer  noon. 
When  all  was  silent  again,  the  preacher  rose ;  a  little,  meagre 
man,  who  looked  as  if  he  might  rather  melt  away  beneath  the 
hlazing  sunshine  of  July,  than  hold  the  multitude  enchained 
four  uninterrupted  hours  long,  by  the  magic  of  his  tongue. 
His  text  was  the  8th,  9th,  and  10th  verses  of  the  second 
chapter  of  Ephesians ;  and  as  the  slender  monk  spoke  to  his 
simple  audience  of  God's  grace,  and  of  faith  in  Jesus,  who 
had  descended  from  above  to  save  the  lowliest  and  the  most 
abandoned,  if  they  would  put  their  trust  in  Him,  his  hearers 
were  alternately  exalted  with  fervor  or  melted  into  tears.  He 
prayed  for  all  conditions  of  men — for  themselves,  their  friends, 
their  enemies,  for  the  government  which  had  persecuted  them, 
for  the  King  whose  face  was  turned  upon  them  in  anger.  At 
times,  according  to  one  who  was  present,  not  a  dry  eye  was  to 
be  seen  in  the  crowd.  When  the  minister  had  finished,  he 
left  his  congregation  abruptly,  for  he  had  to  travel  all  night 
in  order  to  reach  Alkmaar,  where  he  was  to  preach  upon  the 
following  day.* 

By  the  middle  of  July  the  custom  was  established  outside 
all  the  principal  cities.  Camp-meetings  were  held  in  some 
places;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Antwerp, 
where  the  congregations  numbered  often  fifteen  thousand  ;f 
and  on  some  occasions  were  estimated  at  between  twenty  and 
thirty  thousand  persons  at  a  time;  "very  many  of  them,"  said 
an  eye-witness,  "  the  best  and  wealthiest  in  the  town."t 

The  sect  to  which  most  of  these  worshippers  belonged 
was  that  of  Calvin.  In  Antwerp  there  were  Lutherans, 
Calvinists,  and  Anabaptists.     The  Lutherans  were  the  richest 


*  Brandt,  320,  321.     Memorien  van  Laurens  Jacq.  Read,  f.  20,  21,  22,  apud 
Brandt. 

f  Reiffer.bcrg.  Correspondanec  do  Marg.  d'Autriche,  84. 
\  Letter  of  Clough,  in  Burgon,  ii.  135. 


538  THE   KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    KEPUBLIC.  [1566. 

sect,*  but  the  Calvinists  the  most  numerous  and  enthusiastic. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  at  this  moment  was  strenuously  opposed 
both  to  Calvinism  and  Anabaptisrn,  but  inclining  to  Luther- 
anism.f  Political  reasons  at  this  epoch  doubtless  influenced 
his  mind  in  religious  matters.  The  aid  of  the  Lutheran  princes 
of  Germany,  who  detested  the  doctrines  of  Geneva,  could 
hardly  be  relied  upon  for  the  Netherlanders,  unless  they  would 
adopt  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.  The  Prince  knew  that  the 
Emperor,  although  inclined  to  the  Eeformation,  was  bitterly 
averse  to  Calvinism,  and  he  was,  therefore,  desirous  of  healing 
the  schism  which  existed  in  the  general  Keformed  Church. 
To  accomplish  this,  however,  would  be  to  gain  a  greater  victory 
over  the  bigotry  which  was  the  prevailing  characteristic  of  the 
age  than  j)erhaps  could  be  expected.  The  Prince,  from  the 
first  moment  of  his  abandoning  the  ancient  doctrines,  was 
disposed  to  make  the  attempt.^ 

The  Duchess  ordered  the  magistrates  of  Antwerp  to  put 
down  these  mass-meetings  by  means  of  the  guild-militia. 
They  replied  that  at  an  earlier  day  such  a  course  might  have 
been  practicable,  but  that  the  sects  had  become  quite  too 
numerous  for  coercion.  If  the  authorities  were  able  to  pre- 
vent the  exercises  of  the  Keformed  religion  within  the  city, 
it  would  be  as  successful  a  result  as  could  be  expected.  To 
prevent  the  preaching  outside  the  walls,  by  means  of  the 
ourgher  force,  was  an  utter  impossibility^  The  dilatoriness  of 
the  Sovereign  placed  the  Kegent  in  a  frightful  dilemma,  but  it 
was  sufficiently  obvious  that  the  struggle  could  not  long  be  de- 
ferred. "  There  will  soon  be  a  hard  nut  to  crack,"  wrote  Count 
Louis.     "  The  King  will  never  grant  the  preaching ;  the  people 


*  There  were,  however,  but  two  Lutheran  churches  in  all  the  Netherlands, 
according  to  the  statement  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Both  were  in  Antwerp. 
"  Es  ist  aber  zu  erbarmen  das  der  Calvinismus  so  weitt  einreissct  und  die  Augs- 
burgisehe  Confession  uberwachsett,  das  in  alien  diesen  landen  seint  nur  zwo 
kirchen  der  Augsburgischen  Confession  und  die  werden  in  dieser  stadt  Antorff- 
erhalten." — Der  andere  hauff  ist  durchaus  Calvinisch.  Letter  from  W.  of  Orange 
to  Elector  Augustus,  1st  Sept.,  1566.    MS.  Dresden  Archives. 

\  Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc,  ii.  157. 

%  Ibid.  ii.  454,  455,  473,  480,  480.  s>-;q.  §  Bor,  ii.  G9,  70. 


1566.]  ALARM    OF    THE   DUCHESS.  539 

will  never  give  it  up,  if  it  cost  them  their  necks.  There 's  a 
hard  puff  coming  upon  the  country  before  long."*  The  Duchess 
was  not  yet  authorized  to  levy  troops,  and  she  feared  that  if 
she  commenced  such  operations,  she  should  perhaps  offend  the 
King,  while  she  at  the  same  time  might  provoke  the  people 
into  more  effective  military  preparations  than  her  own.f  She 
felt  that  for  one  company  levied  by  her,  the  sectaries  could 
raise  ten.  Moreover,  she  was  entirely  without  money,  even  if 
she  should  otherwise  think  it  expedient  to  enrol  an  army. 
Meantime  she  did  what  she  could  with  "  public  prayers,  pro- 
cessions, fasts,  sermons,  exhortations,'"'  and  other  ecclesiastical 
machinery  which  she  ordered  the  bishops  to  put  in  motion.  * 
Her  situation  was  indeed  sufficiently  alarming. 

Egmont,  whom  many  of  the  sectaries  hoped  to  secure  as 
their  leader  in  case  of  a  civil  war,§  showed  no  disposition  to 
encourage  such  hopes,  but  as  little  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  people.  He  went  to  Flanders,  where  the  armed  assem- 
blages for  field-preaching  had  become  so  numerous  that  a 
force  of  thirty  or  forty  thousand  men  might  be  set  on  foot 
almost  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  where  the  conserva- 
tives, in  a  state  of  alarm,  desired  the  presence  of  their  renowned 
governor. I j  The  people  of  Antwerp,  on  their  part,  demanded 
"William  of  Orange.  The  Prince,  who  was  hereditary  bur- 
grave  of  the  city,  had  at  first  declined  the  invitation  of  the 
magistracy.  The  Duchess  united  her  request  with  the  uni- 
versal prayer  of  the  inhabitants.  Events  meantime  had  been 
thickening,  and  suspicion  increasing.  Meghen  had  been  iD 
the  city  for  several  days,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  Keformers, 
by  whom  he  was  hated.  Aremberg  was  expected  to  join  him, 
and  it  was  rumored  that  measures  were  secretly  in  progress 


°  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii,  208. 

f  "Aussi  si  je  lieve  gens  pour  la  guarde  ct  deffeuco  de  co  dit  pays,  Ton  en 
treuve  plusieurs  au  contraire  qui  les  retiennent  en  leur  donnant  plus  grando 
scailde." — Unpublished  letter  of  Margaret  of  Parma  to  Philippe  II.,  in  the 
Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.  avecla  Duchesse  de  Panne,  15G6-15G7,  No.  104 
MS.  Archives  du  Royaunie.     Papiera  d'Etat. 

+  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  122. 

§  Pontus  Payen  MS.  ||  Correspondance  de  M.  d'Autriche,  136. 


540  THE   RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

under  the  auspices  of  these  two  leading  cardinalists,  for  intro- 
ducing a  garrison,  together  with  great  store  of  ammunition, 
into  the  city.  On  the  other  hand,  the  "great  beggar,"  Brede- 
rode,  had  taken  up  his  quarters  also  in  Antwerp  ;  had  been 
daily  entertaining  a  crowd  of  roystering  nobles  at  his  hotel, 
previously  to  a  second  political  demonstration,  which  will  soon 
be  described,  and  was  constantly  parading  the  street,  followed 
by  a  swarm  of  adherents  in  the  beggar  livery.  The  sincere 
Keformers  were  made  nearly  as  uncomfortable  by  the  presence 
of  their  avowed  friends,  as  by  that  of  Meghen  and  Aremberg, 
and  earnestly  desired  to  be  rid  of  them  all.  Long  and  anxious 
were  the  ponderings  of  the  magistrates  upon  all  these  subjects. 
It  was  determined,  at  last,  to  send  a  fresh  deputation  to  Brus- 
sels, requesting  the  Kegent  to  order  the  departure  of  Meghen, 
Aremberg,  and  Brederode  from  Antwerp  ;  remonstrating  with 
her  against  any  plan  she  might  be  supposed  to  entertain  of 
sending  mercenary  troops  into  the  city  ;  pledging  the  word  of 
the  senate  to  keep  the  peace,  meanwhile,  by  their  regular 
force  ;  and  above  all,  imploring  her  once  more,  in  the  most 
urgent  terms,  to  send  thither  the  burgrave.  as  the  only  man 
who  was  capable  of  saving  the  city  from  the  calamities  into 
which  it  was  so  likely  to  fall.* 

The  Prince  of  Orange  being  thus  urgently  besought,  both 
by  the  government  of  Antwerp,  the  inhabitants  of  that  city, 
and  by  the  Kegent  herself,f  at  last  consented  to  make  the 
visit  so  earnestly  demanded.  On  the  13th  July,  he  arrived  in 
Antwerp.*  The  whole  city  was  alive  with  enthusiasm.  Half 
its  population  seemed  to  have  come  forth  from  the  gates  to  bid 
him  welcome,  lining  the  road  for  miles.  The  gate  through  which 
he  was  to  pass,  the  ramparts,  the  roofs  of  the  houses  were  packed 
close,  with  expectant  and  eager  faces.  At  least  thirty  thousand 
persons  had  assembled  to  welcome  their  guest.  A  long  caval- 
cade of  eminent  citizens  had  come  as  far  as  Berghen  to  meet 
him  and  to  escort  him  into  the  city.     Brederode,  attended 


*  Bor,  ii.  73,  14.     Meteren,  ii.  39b.  f  Hopper,  81. 

\  Strada,    v.  202.     Hoofd,  ii.    87.     Correspondance    de   Marg.    Autriche,    8T. 
Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit.,  136,  137. 


1566.]  ORANGE    AT    ANTWERP.  541 

by  some  of  the  noble  confederates,  rode  at  the  head  of  the 
procession.  As  they  encountered  the  Prince,  a  discharge  of 
pistol-shots  was  fired  by  way  of  salute,  which  was  the  signal 
for  a  deafening  shout  from  the  assembled  multitude.  The 
crowd  thronged  about  the  Prince  as  he  advanced,  calling  him 
their  preserver,  their  father,  their  only  hope.  Wild  shouts  of 
welcome  rose  upon  every  side,  as  he  rode  through  the  town, 
mingled  with  occasional  vociferations  of  "long  life  to  the 
beggars."  These  party  cries  were  instantly  and  sharply 
rebuked  by  Orange,  who  expressed,  in  Brederode's  presence, 
the  determination  that  he  would  make  men  unlearn  that  mis- 
chievous watchword.*  He  had,  moreover,  little  relish  at  that 
time  for  the  tumultuous  demonstrations  of  attachment  to  his 
person,  which  were  too  fervid  to  be  censured,  but  too  unseason- 
able to  be  approved.  When  the  crowd  had  at  last  been  made 
to  understand  that  their  huzzas  were  distasteful  to  the  Prince, 
most  of  the  multitude  consented  to  disperse,  feeling,  however,  a 
relief  from  impending  danger  in  the  presence  of  the  man  to 
whom  they  instinctively  looked  as  their  natural  protector. 
The  senators  had  come  forth  in  a  body  to  receive  the  bur- 
grave  and  escort  him  to  the  hotel  prepared  for  him.  Arrived 
there,  he  lost  no  time  in  opening  the  business  which  had 
brought  him  to  Antwerp.  He  held  at  once  a  long  consulta- 
tion with  the  upper  branch  of  the  government.  Afterwards, 
day  after  day,  he  honestly,  arduously,  sagaciously  labored  to 
restore  the  public  tranquillity.  He  held  repeated  deliberations 
with  every  separate  portion  of  the  little  commonwealth,  the 
senate,  the  council  of  ancients,  the  corporation  of  ward-masters, 
the  deans  of  trades.  Nor  did  he  confine  his  communication  to 
these  organized  political  bodies  alone.  He  had  frequent  inter- 
views with  the  officers  of  the  military  associations,  with  the 
foreign  merchant  companies,  with  the  guilds  of  "  Rhetoric."f 
The  chambers  of  the  "  Violet"  and  the  "  Marigold"  were  not  too 
frivolous  or  fantastic  to  be  consulted  by  one  who  knew  human 


*  Bor,  ii.  7G.     Strada,  v.  203.     Hopper,  91,  is  no  less  explicit:  "desquellea 
le  prince  se  monstroit  fort  fache  et  malcontent." 
f  Bor,  ii.  76.     Hoofd,  ii.  83. 


542  THE    RISE    OF    THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

nature  and  the  constitution  of  Netherlancl  society  so  well  as 
did  the  Prince.  Night  and  day  he  labored  with  all  classes  of 
citizens  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding,  and  to  establish 
mutual  confidence.  At  last  by  his  efforts  tranquillity  was 
restored.  The  broad-council  having  been  assembled,  it  was 
decided  that  the  exercise  of  the  Reformed  religion  should  be 
excluded  from  the  city,  but  silently  tolerated  in  the  suburbs, 
while  an  armed  force  was  to  be  kept  constantly  in  readiness  to 
suppress  all  attempts  at  insurrection.  The  Prince  had  desired 
that  twelve  hundred  men  should  be  enlisted  and  paid  by  the 
city,  so  that  at  least  a  small  number  of  disciplined  troops  might 
be  ready  at  a  moment's  warning  ;  but  he  found  it  impossible 
to  carry  the  point  with  the  council.  The  magistrates  were 
willing  to  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  city, 
but  they  would  have  no  mercenaries.* 

Thus,  during  the  remainder  of  July  and  the  early  part  of 
August,  was  William  of  Orange  strenuously  occupied  in  doing 
what  should  have  been  the  Regent's  work.  He  was  still 
regarded  both  by  the  Duchess  and  by  the  Calvinist  party — 
although  having  the  sympathies  of  neither, — as  the  only  man 
in  the  Netherlands  who  could  control  the  rising  tide  of  a 
national  revolt.  He  took  care,  said  his  enemies,  that  his  con- 
duct at  Antwerp  should  have  every  appearance  of  loyalty  ;f  but 
they  insinuated  that  he  was  a  traitor  from  the  beginning,  who 
was  insidiously  fomenting  the  troubles  which  lie  appeared  to 
rebuke.  No  one  doubted  his  genius,  and  all  felt  or  affected 
admiration  at  its  display  upon  this  critical  occasion.  "  The 
Prince  of  Orange  is  doing  very  great  and  notable  services  at 
Antwerp  to  the  King  and  to  the  country,"  said  Assonleville. 
"  That  seignior  is  very  skilful  in  managing  great  affairs."* 
Margaret  of  Parma  wrote  letters  to  him  rilled  with  the 
warmest  gratitude,  expressions  of  approbation,  and  of  wishes 
that  he  could  both  remain  in  Antwerp  and  return  to  assist 
her  in  Brussels.§     Philip,  too,  with  his  own  pen,  addressed 


*  Bor,  ii.  77.     Hoofd,  iii,  88,  89. 

f  Bentivoglio,  ii.  37.  \  Foppens,  Supplement,  ii.  364. 

§  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit,  ii.  148,  149,  164-166. 


1566.]  SHERIFFS   AND    DOCTORS.  543 

him  a  letter,  in  which  implicit  confidence  in  the  Prince's  char- 
acter was  avowed,  all  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  Sovereign 
indignantly  repudiated,  earnest  thanks  for  his  acceptance  of 
the  Antwerp  mission  uttered,  and  a  distinct  refusal  given  to 
the  earnest  request  made  by  Orange  to  resign  his  offices.*  The 
Prince  read  or  listened  to  all  this  commendation,  and  valued  it 
exactly  at  its  proper  worth.  He  knew  it  to  be  pure  grimace. 
He  was  no  more  deceived  by  it  than  if  he  had  read  the  letter 
sent  by  Margaret  to  Philip,  a  few  weeks  later,  in  which  she 
expressed  herself  as  "  thoroughly  aware  that  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  Orange  to  take  advantage  of  the  impending  tumults, 
for  the  purpose  of  conquering  the  provinces  and  of  dividing 
the  whole  territory  among  himself  and  friends. "f  Nothing  could 
be  more  utterly  false  than  so  vile  and  ridiculous  a  statement. 

The  course  of  the  Prince  had  hitherto  been,  and  was  still, 
both  consistent  and  loyal.  He  was  proceeding  step  by  step 
to  place  the  monarch  in  the  wrong,  but  the  only  art  which  he 
was  using,  was  to  plant  himself  more  firmly  upon  the  right. 
It  was  in  the  monarch's  power  to  convoke  the  assembly  of  the 
states-general,  so  loudly  demanded  by  the  whole  nation,  to 
abolish  the  inquisition,  to  renounce  persecution,  to  accept  the 
great  fact  of  the  Reformation.  To  do  so  he  must  have  ceased 
to  be  Philip.  To  have  faltered  in  attempting  to  bring  him 
into  that  path,  the  Prince  must  have  ceased  to  be  William  of 
Orange.  Had  he  succeeded,  there  would  have  been  no  treason 
and  no  Republic  of  Holland.  His  conduct  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Antwerp  troubles  was  firm  and  sagacious.  Even  had  his 
duty  required  him  to  put  down  the  public  preaching  with 
peremptory  violence,  he  had  been  furnished  with  no  means  to 
accomplish  the  purpose.  The  rebellion,  if  it  were  one,  was 
already  full-grown.  It  could  not  be  taken  by  the  throat  and 
strangled  with  one  hand,  however  firm. 

A  report  that  the  High  Sheriff  of  Brabant  was  col- 
lecting  troops    by   command    of    government,    in    order    to 


*  Corrcspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit,  ii.  170,  171. 
f  Strada,  v.  207. 


544  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

attack  the  Eeformers  at  their  field-preachings,  went  far  to 
undo  the  work  already  accomplished  by  the  Prince.*  The 
assemblages  swelled  again  from  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
to  twenty-five  thousand,  the  men  all  providing  themselves 
more  thoroughly  with  weapons  than  before.  Soon  afterwards, 
the  intemperate  zeal  of  another  individual,  armed  to  the 
teeth — not,  however,  like  the  martial  sheriff  and  his  forces, 
with  arquebus  and  javelin,  but  with  the  still  more  deadly 
weapons  of  polemical  theology,-  was  very  near  causing  a 
general  outbreak.  A  peaceful  and  not  very  numerous  con- 
gregation were  listening  to  one  of  their  preachers  in  a  field 
outside  the  town.  Suddenly  an  unknown  individual  in  plain 
clothes  and  with  a  pragmatical  demeanor,  interrupted  the 
discourse  by  giving  a  flat  contradiction  to  some  of  the  doc- 
trines advanced.  The  minister  replied  by  a  rebuke,  and  a 
reiteration  of  the  disputed  sentiment.  The  stranger,  evi- 
dently versed  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  volubly  and  warmly 
responded.  The  preacher,  a  man  of  humble  condition  and 
moderate  abilities,  made  as  good  show  of  argument  as  he 
could,  but  was  evidently  no  match  for  his  antagonist. 
He  was  soon  vanquished  in  the  wordy  warfare.  Well 
he  might  be,  for  it  appeared  that  the  stranger  was  no  less  a 
personage  than  Peter  Eythovius,  a  doctor  of  divinity,  a  dis- 
tinguished pedant  of  Louvain,  a  relation  of  a  bishop  and 
himself  a  Church  dignitary  .f  This  learned  professor,  quite 
at  home  in  his  subject,  was  easily  triumphant,  while  the 
poor  dissenter,  more  accustomed  to  elevate  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers  than  to  perplex  their  heads,  sank  prostrate  and 
breathless  under  the  storm  of  texts,  glosses,  and  hard  Hebrew 
roots  with  which  he  was  soon  overwhelmed.  The  professor's 
triumph  was,  however,  but  short-lived,  for  the  simple-minded 
congregation,  who  loved  their  teacher,  were  enraged  that  he 
should  be  thus  confounded.  Without  more  ado,  therefore, 
they  laid  violent  hands  upon  the  Quixotic  knight-errant  of 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  182.     Correspondance  de  Guillaume  lo 
Tacit,  ii.  149,  150.  f  Bor.  »•  81  i  Hc-ofd,  iii.  89. 


1566.]  CONVENTION    AT    ST.    TROND.  545 

the  Church,  and  so  cudgelled  and  belabored  him  bodily  that 
he  might  perhaps  have  lost  his  life  in  the  encounter  had  he 
not  been  protected  by  the  more  respectable  portion  of  the 
assembly.  These  persons,  highly  disapproving  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding, forcibly  rescued  him  from  the  assailants,  and  carried 
him  off  to  town,  where  the  news  of  the  incident  at  once  created 
an  uproar.  Here  he  was  thrown  into  prison  as  a  disturber  of 
the  peace,  but  in  reality  that  he  might  be  personally  secure.* 
The  next  day  the  Prince  of  Orange,  after  administering  to  him 
a  severe  rebuke  for  his  ill-timed  exhibition  of  pedantry,  re- 
leased him  from  confinement,  and  had  him  conveyed  out  of 
the  city.  "  This  theologian,"  wrote  the  Prince  to  Duchess 
Margaret,  "  would  have  done  better,  methinks,  to  stay  at 
home  ;  for  I  suppose  he  had  no  especial  orders  to  perform  this 
piece  of  work."f 

Thus,  so  long  as  this  great  statesman  could  remain  in  the 
metropolis,  his  temperate  firmness  prevented  the  explosion 
which  had  so  long  been  expected.  His  own  government  of 
Holland  and  Zeland,  too,  especially  demanded  his  care.  The 
field-preaching  had  spread  in  that  region  with  prodigious 
rapidity.  Armed  assemblages,  utterly  beyond  the  power  of 
the  civil  authorities,  were  taking  place  daily  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Amsterdam.^  Yet  the  Duchess  could  not  allow 
him  to  visit  his  government  in  the  north.  If  he  could  be 
spared  from  Antwerp  for  a  day,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  aid  her  in  a  fresh  complication  with  the  confederated 
nobles.  In  the  very  midst,  therefore,  of  his  Antwerp  labors, 
he  had  been  obliged,  by  Margaret's  orders,  to  meet  a  com- 
mittee at  Duffel. §  For  in  this  same  eventful  month  of  July 
a  great  meeting||  was  held  by  the  members  of  the  Compromise 
at  St.  Trond,  in  the  bishopric  of  Liege.  They  came  to- 
gether on  the  thirteenth  of  the  month,  and  remained  assembled 


*  Bor,  Hoofd,  ubi  sup. 

f  Correspondance  dc  Guillaumo  lo  Tacit,  ii.  181.  J  IIo°fJ,  *'••  89>  90- 

§  Correspondance  de  Guillaumo  le  Tacit,  ii.  148,  MO. 

J  Bor,  ii.  78-80.     Hoofd,   iii.  9G-98.     Strada,   v.   203-20G.     Hopper,   Rec.    et 
Mem.,  90-96. 

VOL.  I.  35 


546  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

till  the  beginning  of  August.  It  was  a  wild,  tumultuous 
convention,  numbering  some  fifteen  hundred  cavaliers,  each 
■with  his  esquires  and  armed  attendants  ;  a  larger  and  more 
important  gathering  than  had  yet  been  held.  Brederode  and 
Count  Louis  were  the  chieftains  of  the  assembly,  which,  as 
may  be  supposed  from  its  composition  and  numbers,  was  likely 
to  be  neither  very  orderly  in  its  demonstrations  nor  wholesome 
in  its  results.  It  was  an  ill-timed  movement.  The  convention 
was  too  large  for  deliberation,  too  riotous  to  inspire  confidence. 
The  nobles  quartered  themselves  every  where  in  the  taverns 
and  the  farm-houses  of  the  neighborhood,  while  large  numbers 
encamped  upon  the  open  fields.  There  was  a  constant  din  of 
revelry  and  uproar,  mingled  with  wordy  warfare,  and  an  oc- 
casional crossing  of  swords.  It  seemed  rather  like  a  congress 
of  ancient,  savage  Batavians,  assembled  in  Teutonic  fashion 
to  choose  a  king  amid  hoarse  shouting,  deep  drinking,  and 
the  clash  of  spear  and  shield,  than  a  meeting  for  a  lofty 
and  earnest  purpose,  by  their  civilized  descendants.  A 
crowd  of  spectators,  landlopers,  mendicants,  daily  aggregated 
themselves  to  the  aristocratic  assembly,  joining,  with  natu- 
ral unction,  in  the  incessant  shout  of  "  Vivent  les  gueux!" 
It  was  impossible  that  so  soon  after  their  baptism  the 
self-styled  beggars  should  repudiate  all  connection  with  the 
time-honored  fraternity  in  which  they  had  enrolled  them- 
selves. 

The  confederates  discussed — if  an  exchange  of  vociferations 
could  be  called  discussion — principally  two  points  :  whether, 
in  case  they  obtained  the  original  objects  of  their  petition, 
they  should  pause  or  move  still  further  onward  ;  and  whether 
they  should  insist  upon  receiving  some  pledge  from  the 
government,  that  no  vengeance  should  be  taken  upon  them 
for  their  previous  proceedings.  Upon  both  questions,  there 
was  much  vehemence  of  argument  and  great  difference  of 
opinion.  They,  moreover,  took  two  very  rash  and  very  grave 
resolutions — to  guarantee  the  people  against  all  violence  on 
account  of  their  creeds,  and  to  engage  a  force  of  German 
soldiery,    four   thousand   horse    and   forty   companies   of  in- 


1566.]  DUFFEL    CONFERENCE.  547 

fantry,  by  "  wart  geld"  or  retaining  wages.*  It  was  evident 
that  these  gentlemen  were  disposed  to  go  fast  and  far.  If 
they  had  been  ready  in  the  spring  to  receive  their  baptism  of 
wine,  the  "  beggars"  were  now  eager  for  the  baptism  of  blood. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  observed  that  the  levies  which 
they  proposed,  not  to  make,  but  to  have  at  command,  were 
purely  for  defence.  In  case  the  King,  as  it  was  thought  prob- 
able, should  visit  the  Netherlands  with  fire  and  sword,  then 
there  would  be  a  nucleus  of  resistance  already  formed. 

Upon  the  18th  July,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  at  the  earnest 
request  of  the  Eegent,  met  a  committee  of  the  confederated 
nobles  at  Duffel.  Count  Egmont  was  associated  with  him 
in  this  duty.  The  conference  was  not  very  satisfactory.  The 
deputies  from  St.  Trond,  consisting  of  Brederode,  Culemburg, 
and  others,  exchanged  with  the  two  seigniors  the  old  argu- 
ments. It  was  urged  upon  the  confederates,  that  they  had 
made  themselves  responsible  for  the  public  tranquillity  so 
long  as  the  Regent  should  hold  to  her  promise  ;  that,  as  the 
Duchess  had  sent  two  distinguished  envoys  to  Madrid,  in 
order  to  accomplish,  if  possible,  the  wishes  of  the  nobles,  it 
was  their  duty  to  redeem  their  own  pledges  ;  that  armed 
assemblages  ought  to  be  suppressed  by  their  efforts  rather 
than  encouraged  by  their  example  ;  and  that,  if  they  now 
exerted  themselves  zealously  to  check  the  tumults,  the 
Duchess  was  ready  to  declare,  in  her  own  name  and  that  of 
his  Majesty,  that  the  presentation  of  the  Request  had  been 
beneficial. 

The  nobles  replied  that  the  pledges  had  become  a  farce, 
that  the  Regent  was  playing  them  false,  that  persecution  was 
as  fierce  as  ever,  that  the  "  Moderation"  was  a  mockery,  that 
the  letters  recommending  "modesty  and  discretion"  to  the 
inquisitors  had  been  mere  waste  paper,  that  a  price  had 
been  set  upon  the  heads  of  the  preachers  as  if  they  had  been 
wild  beasts,  that  there  were  constant  threats  of  invasions  from 


*  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  159,  sqq.;  167,  sqq.  179.     Pontus  Payen 

MS. 


548  THE    RISE    OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

Spain,  that  the  convocation  of  the  states-general  had  been 
illegally  deferred,  that  the  people  had  been  driven  to  despair, 
and  that  it  was  the  conduct  of  government,  not  of  the  con- 
federates, which  had  caused  the  Beformers  to  throw  off  previous 
restraint  and  to  come  boldly  forth  by  tens  of  thousands  into 
the  fields,  not  to  defy  their  King,  but  to  worship  their  God."* 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  conference  of  Duffel.  In  conclusion, 
a  paper  was  drawn  up  which  Brederode  carried  back  to  the 
convention,  and  which  it  was  proposed  to  submit  to  the 
Duchess  for  her  approval.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  Louis 
of  Nassau  was  accordingly  sent  to  Brussels,  accompanied  by 
twelve  associates,  who  were  familiarly  called  his  twelve 
apostles.f  Here  he  laid  before  her  Highness  in  council  a 
statement,  embodying  the  views  of  the  confederates.  In  this 
paper  they  asserted  that  they  were  ever  ready  to  mount  and 
ride  against  a  foreign  foe,  but  that  they  would  never  draw  a 
sword  against  their  innocent  countrymen.  They  maintained 
that  their  past  conduct  deserved  commendation,  and  that  in 
requiring  letters  of  safe  conduct  in  the  names  both  of  the 
Duchess  and  of  the  Fleece-knights,  they  were  governed  not 
by  a  disposition  to  ask  for  pardon,  but  by  a  reluctance  without 
such  guarantees  to  enter  into  stipulations  touching  the  public 
tranquillity.  If,  however,  they  should  be  assured  that  the 
intentions  of  the  Begent  were  amicable  and  that  there  was 
no  design  to  take  vengeance  for  the  past — if,  moreover,  she 
were  willing  to  confide  in  the  counsels  of  Horn,  Egmont,  and 
Orange,  and  to  take  no  important  measure  without  their  con- 
currence— if,  above  all,  she  would  convoke  the  states-general, 
then,  and  then  only,  were  the  confederates  willing  to  exert 


*  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  129,  sqq.  Archives  et  Correspond- 
ance(Gr.  v.  Prinst.)167,  sqq.  Renom  de  France  MS.,  i.  17.  Bor,  ii.  78-80.  Hoofd, 
lii.  96-98. — Compare  Hopper,  90-96;  Strada,  v.  203-206;  Bentivoglio,  ii.  34,  35. 

\  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  120,  sqq. ;  141,  sqq.  The  date  ap- 
pears to  be  the  30th  of  July,  1566.  Vide  Reiffenberg,  Correspondance,  ubi  sup.; 
Gachard,  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  437.  According  to  a  letter  of  Count 
Louis,  however,  (Archives  et  Correspondance,  ii.  177-180),  the  Request  would 
seem  to  have  been  presented  upon  the  26th  of  July. — Strada,  v.  205. 


1566.]  BITTERNESS.  549 

their  energies  to  preserve  peace,  to  restrain  popular  impetu- 
osity and  banish  universal  despair.* 

So  far  Louis  of  Nassau  and  his  twelve  apostles.  It  must 
be  confessed  that,  whatever  might  be  thought  of  the  justice, 
there  could  be  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  boldness  of  these 
views.  The  Duchess  was  furious.  If  the  language  held  in 
April  had  been  considered  audacious,  certainly  this  new  request 
was,  in  her  own  words,  "  still  more  bitter  to  the  taste  and  more 
difficult  of  digestion."f  She  therefore  answered  in  a  very 
unsatisfactory,  haughty  and  ambiguous  manner,  reserving 
decision  upon  their  propositions  till  they  had  been  discussed 
by  the  state  council,  and  intimating  that  they  would  also  be 
laid  before  the  Knights  of  the  Fleece,  who  were  to  hold  a 
meeting  upon  the  26th  of  August. 

There  was  some  further  conversation  without  any  result. 
Esquerdes  complained  that  the  confederates  were  the  mark  of 
constant  calumny,  and  demanded  that  the  slanderers  should 
be  confronted  with  them  and  punished.  "  I  understand  per- 
fectly well,"  interrupted  Margaret,  "  you  wish  to  take  justice 
into  your  own  hands  and  to  be  King  yourself."!  It  was 
further  intimated  by  these  reckless  gentlemen,  that  if  they 
should  be  driven  by  violence  into  measures  of  self-protec- 
tion, they  had  already  secured  friends  in  a  certain  country.§ 
The  Duchess,  probably  astonished  at  the  frankness  of  this 
statement,  is  said  to  have  demanded  further  explanations. 
The  confederates  replied  by  observing  that  they  had  resources 
both  in  the  provinces  and  in  Germany.  The  state  council 
decided  that  to  accept  the  propositions  of  the  confederates 
would  be  to  establish  a  triumvirate  at  once,  and  the  Duchess 
wrote  to  her  brother  distinctly  advising  against  the  accept- 
ance of  the  proposal.  [[     The  assembly  at  St.  Trond  was  then 

*  Hopper,  94,  95.     HoofJ,  iii.  98.     Strada  v.  205,  206. 
f  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  142. 
\  Renom  de  France,  MS.,  i.  18. 

§  Le  Petit:  Grande  Chronique  de  Hollande,  109*,  114b.      Groen  v.  Prinst., 
Archives,  ii.  167,  168. 

|  Renom  de  France  MS.,  i.  18.     Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  142. 


550  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

dissolved,  having  made  violent  demonstrations  which  were  not 
followed  by  beneficial  results,  and  having  laid  itself  open  to 
various  suspicions,  most  of  which  were  ill-founded,  while  some 
of  them  were  just. 

Before  giving  the  reader  a  brief  account  of  the  open  and 
the  secret  policy  pursued  by  the  government  at  Brussels  and 
Madrid,  in  consequence  of  these  transactions,  it  is  now  neces- 
sary to  allude  to  a  startling  series  of  events,  which  at  this 
point  added  to  the  complications  of  the  times,  and  exercised  a 
fatal  influence  upon  the  situation  of  the  commonwealth. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Ecclesiastical  architecture  in  the  Netherlands — The  image-breaking — Description 
of  Antwerp  Cathedral — Ceremony  of  the  Ommegang — Precursory  disturb- 
ances— Iconoclasts  at  Antwerp — Incidents  of  tho  image-breaking  in  various 
cities — Events  at  Tournay — Preaching  of  Wille — Disturbance  by  a  littlo 
boy — Churches  sacked  at  Tournay — Disinterment  of  Duke  Adolphus  of 
Gueldres — Iconoclasts  defeated  and  massacred  at  Anchin — Bartholomew's 
Day  at  Valenciennes — General  characteristics  of  the  image-breaking — Testi- 
mony of  contemporaries  as  to  the  honesty  of  the  rioters — Consternation  of 
the  Duchess — Projected  flight  to  Mons — Advice  of  Horn  and  other  seigniors 
—Accord  of  25  th  August. 

The  Netherlands  possessed  an  extraordinary  number  of 
churches  and  monasteries.  Their  exquisite  architecture  and 
elaborate  decoration  had  been  the  earliest  indication  of  intel- 
lectual culture  displayed  in  the  country.  In  the  vast  number 
of  cities,  towns,  and  villages  which  were  crowded  upon  that 
narrow  territory,  there  had  been,  from  circumstances  operating 
throughout  Christendom,  a  great  accumulation  of  ecclesiastical 
wealth.  The  same  causes  can  never  exist  again  which  at  an 
early  day  covered  the  soil  of  Europe  with  those  magnificent 
creations  of  Christian  art.  It  was  in  these  anonymous  but 
entirely  original  achievements  that  Gothic  genius,  awaking 
from  its  long  sleep  of  the  dark  ages,  first  expressed  itself.  The 
early  poetry  of  the  German  races  was  hewn  and  chiselled  in 
stone.  Around  the  steadfast  principle  of  devotion  then  so 
firmly  rooted  in  the  soil,  clustered  the  graceful  and  vigorous 
emanations  of  the  newly-awakened  mind.  All  that  science 
could  invent,  all  that  art  could  embody,  all  that  mechanical 
ingenuity  could  dare,  all  that  wealth  could  lavish, — whatever 
there  was  of  human  energy  which  was  panting  for  pacific  utter- 
ance, wherever  there  stirred  the  vital  principle  which  instinct- 
ively strove  to  create  and  to  adorn  at  an  epoch  when  vulgar 


552  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

violence  and  destructiveness  were  the  general  tendencies  of 
humanity,  all  gathered  around  these  magnificent  temples,  as 
their  aspiring  pinnacles  at  last  pierced  the  mist  which  had  so 
long  brooded  over  the  world. 

There  were  many  hundreds  of  churches,  more  or  less  remark- 
able, in  the  Netherlands.  Although  a  severe  criticism  might 
regret  to  find  in  these  particular  productions  of  the  great  Ger- 
manic school  a  development  of  that  practical  tendency  which 
distinguished  the  Batavian  and  Flemish  branches,— although 
it  might  recognize  a  departure  from  that  mystic  principle 
which,  in  its  efforts  to  symbolize  the  strivings  of  humanity 
towards  the  infinite  object  of  worship  above,  had  somewhat 
disregarded  the  wants  of  the  worshippers  below,— although  the 
spaces  might  be  too  wide  and  the  intercolumniations  too 
empty,  except  for  the  convenience  of  congregations, — yet  there 
were,  nevertheless,  many  ecclesiastical  masterpieces,  which 
could  be  regarded  as  very  brilliant  manifestations  of  the  Bata- 
vian and  Belgic  mind  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries.  Many  were  filled  with  paintings  from  a  school 
which  had  precedence  in  time  and  merit  over  its  sister  nurser- 
ies of  art  in  Germany.  All  were  peopled  with  statues.  All 
were  filled  with  profusely-adorned  chapels,  for  the  churches 
had  been  enriched  generation  after  generation  by  wealthy 
penitence,  which  had  thus  purchased  absolution  for  crime  and 
smoothed  a  pathway  to  heaven. 

And  now,  for  the  space  of  only  six  or  seven  summer  days 
and  nights,  there  raged  a  storm  by  which  all  these  treasures 
were  destroyed.  Nearly  every  one  of  these  temples  was  entirely 
rifled  of  its  contents  ;  not  for  the  purpose  of  plunder,  but  of 
destruction.  Hardly  a  province  or  a  town  escaped.  Art  must 
forever  weep  over  this  bereavement ;  Humanity  must  regret 
that  the  reforming  is  thus  always  ready  to  degenerate  into  the 
destructive  principle  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  censure  very 
severely  the  spirit  which  prompted  the  brutal,  but  not  fero- 
cious deed.  Those  statues,  associated  as  they  were  with  the 
remorseless  persecution  which  had  so  long  desolated  the  prov- 
inces, had  ceased  to  be  images.     They  had  grown  human  and 


1566.]  ANTWERP    CATHEDRAL.  553 

hateful,  so  that  the  people  arose  and  devoted  them  to  indis- 
criminate massacre. 

No  doubt  the  iconoclastic  fury  is  to  be  regretted  ;  for  such 
treasures  can  scarcely  be  renewed.  The  age  for  building  and 
decorating  great  cathedrals  is  past.  Certainly,  our  own  age, 
practical  and  benevolent,  if  less  poetical,  should  occupy  itself 
with  the  present,  and  project  itself  into  the  future.  It  should 
render  glory  to  God  rather  by  causing  wealth  to  fertilize  the 
lowest  valleys  of  humanity,  than  by  rearing  gorgeous  temples 
where  paupers  are  to  kneel.  To  clothe  the  naked,  redeem 
the  criminal,  feed  the  hungry,  less  by  alms  and  homilies 
than  by  preventive  institutions  and  beneficent  legislation  ; 
above  all,  by  the  diffusion  of  national  education,  to  lift  a  race 
upon  a  level  of  culture  hardly  attained  by  a  class  in  earlier 
times,  is  as  lofty  a  task  as  to  accumulate  piles  of  ecclesiastical 
splendor. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  recount  in  detail  the  events  which 
characterized  the  remarkable  image-breaking  in  the  Nether- 
lands. As  Antwerp  was  the  central  point  in  these  transac- 
tions, and  as  there  was  more  wealth  and  magnificence  in  the 
great  cathedral  of  that  city  than  in  any  church  of  northern 
Europe,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  rapid  outline  of  the  events 
which  occurred  there.  From  its  exhibition  in  that  place  the 
spirit  every  where  will  best  be  shown. 

The  Church  of  Our  Lady,  which  Philip  had  so  recently  con- 
verted into  a  cathedral,  dated  from  the  year  1124,  although 
it  may  be  more  fairly  considered  a  work  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  Its  college  of  canons  had  been  founded  in  another 
locality  by  Godfrey  of  Bouillon.  The  Brabantine  hero,  who 
so  romantically  incarnated  the  religious  poetry  of  his  age,  who 
first  mounted  the  walls  of  redeemed  Jerusalem,  and  was  its 
first  Christian  monarch,  but  who  refused  to  accept  a  golden 
diadem  on  the  spot  where  the  Saviour  had  been  crowned  with 
thorns  ;  the  Fleming  who  lived  and  was  the  epic  which  the 
great  Italian,  centuries  afterwards,  translated  into  immortal 
verse,  is  thus  fitly  associated  with  the  beautiful  architectural 
poem  which  was  to  grace  his  ancestral  realms.     The  body  of 


554  THE    KISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

the  church, — the  interior  and  graceful  perspectives  of  which 
were  not  liable  to  the  reproach  brought  against  many  Nether- 
land  churches,  of  assimilating  themselves  already  to  the  mu- 
nicipal palaces  which  they  were  to  suggest — was  completed 
in  the  fourteenth  century.  The  beautiful  facade,  with  its 
tower,  was  not  completed  till  the  year  1518.  The  exquisite 
and  daring  spire,  the  gigantic  stem  upon  which  the  consum- 
mate flower  of  this  architectural  creation  was  to  be  at  last  un- 
folded, was  a  plant  of  a  whole  century's  growth.  Rising  to  a 
height  of  nearly  five  hundred  feet,  over  a  church  of  as  many 
feet  in  length,  it  worthily  represented  the  upward  tendency 
of  Gothic  architecture.  Externally  and  internally  the  cathe- 
dral was  a  true  expression  of  the  Christian  principle  of  devo- 
tion. Amid  its  vast  accumulation  of  imagery,  its  endless 
ornaments,  its  multiplicity  of  episodes,  its  infinite  variety  of 
details,  the  central,  maternal  principle  was  ever  visible.  Every 
thing  pointed  upwards,  from  the  spire  in  the  clouds  to  the  arch 
which  enshrined  the  smallest  sculptured  saint  in  the  chapels 
below.  It  was  a  sanctuary,  not  like  pagan  temples,  to  enclose 
a  visible  deity,  but  an  edifice  where  mortals  might  worship  an 
unseen  Being  in  the  realms  above. 

The  church,  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  with  the  noisy 
streets  of  the  busiest  metropolis  in  Europe  eddying  around  its 
walls,  was  a  sacred  island  in  the  tumultuous  main.  Through 
the  perpetual  twilight,  tall  columnar  trunks  in  thick  profusion 
grew  from  a  floor  chequered  with  prismatic  lights  and  sepul- 
chral shadows.  Each  shaft  of  the  petrified  forest  rose  to  a 
preternatural  height,  their  many  branches  intermingling  in 
the  space  above,  to  form  an  impenetrable  canopy.  Foliage, 
flowers  and  fruit  of  colossal  luxuriance,  strange  birds,  beasts, 
griffins  and  chimeras  in  endless  multitudes,  the  rank  vegeta- 
tion and  the  fantastic  zoology  of  a  fresher  or  fabulous  world, 
seemed  to  decorate  and  to  animate  the  serried  trunks  and 
pendant  branches,  while  the  shattering  symphonies  or  dying 
murmurs  of  the  organ  suggested  the  rushing  of  the  wind 
through  the  forest, — now  the  full  diapason  of  the  storm  and 
now  the  gentle  cadence  of  the  evening  breeze. 


1566.]  ECCLESIASTICAL    WEALTH.  555 

Internally,  the  whole  church  was  rich  beyond  expression. 
All  that  opulent  devotion  and  inventive  ingenuity  could  devise, 
in  wood,  bronze,  marble,  silver,  gold,  precious  jewelry,  or 
blazing  sacramental  furniture,  had  been  profusely  lavished. 
The  penitential  tears  of  centuries  had  incrusted  the  whole 
interior  with  their  glittering  stalactites.  Divided  into  five 
naves,  "with  external  rows  of  chapels,  but  separated  by  no 
screens  or  partitions,  the  great  temple  forming  an  imposing 
whole,  the  effect  was  the  more  impressive,  the  vistas  almost 
infinite  in  appearance.  The  wealthy  citizens,  the  twenty- 
seven  guilds,  the  six  military  associations,  the  rhythmical 
colleges,  besides  many  other  secular  or  religious  sodalities, 
had  each  their  own  chapels  and  altars.  Tombs  adorned  with 
the  effigies  of  mailed  crusaders  and  pious  dames  covered  the 
floor,  tattered  banners  hung  in  the  air,  the  escutcheons  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  an  order  typical  of  Flemish  industry,  but  of 
which  Emperors  and  Kings  were  proud  to  be  the  chevaliers, 
decorated  the  columns.  The  vast  and  beautifully-painted 
windows  glowed  with  scriptural  scenes,  antique  portraits, 
homely  allegories,  painted  in  those  brilliant  and  forgotten 
colors  which  Art  has  not  ceased  to  deplore.  The  daylight 
melting  into  gloom  or  colored  writh  fantastic  brilliancy,  priests 
in  effulgent  robes  chanting  in  unknown  language,  the  sublime 
breathing  of  choral  music,  the  suffocating  odors  of  myrrh  and 
spikenard,  suggestive  of  the  oriental  scenery  and  imagery  of 
Holy  Writ,  all  combined  to  bewilder  and  exalt  the  senses.  The 
highest  and  humblest  seemed  to  find  themselves  upon  the  same 
level  within  those  sacred  precincts,  where  even  the  blood- 
stained criminal  was  secure,  and  the  arm  of  secular  justice  was 
paralyzed. 

But  the  work  of  degeneration  had  commenced.  The  atmos- 
phere of  the  cathedral  was  no  longer  holy  in  the  eyes  of  in- 
creasing multitudes.  Better  the  sanguinary  rites  of  Belgic 
Druids,  better  the  yell  of  slaughtered  victims  from  the  "  wild 
wood  without  mercy"  of  the  pagan  forefathers  of  the  nation, 
than  this  fantastic  intermingling  of  divine  music,  glowing  colors, 
gorgeous   ceremonies,  with   all   the  burning,  beheading   and 


556  THE   RISE   OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

strangling  work  which  had  characterized  the  system  of  human 
sacrifice  for  the  past  half-century. 

Such  was  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  at  Antwerp.  Thus  in- 
different or  hostile  towards  the  architectural  treasure  were  the 
inhabitants  of  a  city,  where  in  a  previous  age  the  whole  popu- 
lation would  have  risked  their  lives  to  defend  what  they 
esteemed  the  pride  and  garland  of  their  metropolis. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  had  been  anxiously  solicited  by  the 
Regent  to  attend  the  conference  at  Duffel.  After  returning  to 
Antwerp,  he  consented,  in  consequence  of  the  urgent  entreaties 
of  the  senate,  to  delay  his  departure  until  the  18th  of  August 
should  be  past.  On  the  13th  of  that  month  he  had  agreed 
with  the  magistrates  upon  an  ordinance,  which  was  accordingly 
published,  and  by  which  the  preachings  were  restricted  to  the 
fields.  A  deputation  of  merchants  and  others  waited  upon  him 
with  a  request  to  be  permitted  the  exercises  of  the  Reformed 
religion  in  the  city.  This  petition  the  Prince  peremptorily  re- 
fused, and  the  deputies,  as  well  as  their  constituents,  acquiesced 
in  the  decision,  "  out  of  especial  regard  and  respect  for  his  per- 
son." He,  however,  distinctly  informed  the  Duchess  that  it 
would  be  difficult  or  impossible  to  maintain  such  a  position 
long,  and  that  his  departure  from  the  city  would  probably  be 
followed  by  an  outbreak.  He  warned  her  that  it  was  very  im- 
prudent for  him  to  leave  Antwerp  at  that  particular  juncture. 
Nevertheless,  the  meeting  of  the  Fleece-knights  seemed,  in 
Margaret's  opinion,  imperatively  to  require  his  presence  in 
Brussels.  She  insisted  by  repeated  letters  that  he  should  leave 
Antwerp  immediately.0 

Upon  the  18th  August,  the  great  and  time-honored  cere- 
mony of  the  Ommegang  occurred.  Accordingly,  the  great  pro- 
cession, the  principal  object  of  which  was  to  conduct  around 
the  city  a  colossal  image  of  the  Virgin,  issued  as  usual  from 
the  door  of  the  cathedral.  The  image,  bedizened  and  effulgent, 
was  borne  aloft  upon  the  shoulders  of  her  adorers,  followed 


*  Bor,  ii.    81-83.     Hoofd,  iii.  99.     Correspondance  de  Guillaume  le  Tacit,  ii. 
188,  189.     Groen  v.  Prinst,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  236,  237. 


1566.]  THE    STORM    BREWING.  557 

by  the  guilds,  the  military  associations,  the  rhetoricians,  the 
religious  sodalities,  all  in  glittering  costume,  bearing  blazoned 
banners,  and  marching  triumphantly  through  the  streets  with 
sound  of  trumpet  and  beat  of  drum.*  The  pageant,  solemn 
but  noisy,  was  exactly  such  a  show  as  was  most  fitted  at  that 
moment  to  irritate  Protestant  minds  and  to  lead  to  mischief. 
No  violent  explosion  of  ill-feeling,  however,  took  place.  The 
procession  was  followed  by  a  rabble  rout  of  scoffers,  but  they 
confined  themselves  to  words  and  insulting  gestures."}*  The 
image  was  incessantly  saluted,  as  she  was  borne  along  the 
streets,  with  sneers,  imprecations,  and  the  rudest  ribaldry. 
"  Mayken  !  Mayken  \"  (little  Mary)  "your  hour  is  come.  'Tis 
your  last  promenade.  The  city  is  tired  of  you."  Such  were 
the  greetings  which  the  representative  of  the  Holy  Virgin  re- 
ceived from  men  grown  weary  of  antiquated  mummery.  A 
few  missiles  were  thrown  occasionally  at  the  procession  as  it 
passed  through  the  city,  but  no  damage  was  inflicted.  When 
the  image  was  at  last  restored  to  its  place,  and  the  pageant 
brought  to  a  somewhat  hurried  conclusion,  there  seemed  cause 
for  congratulation  that  no  tumult  had  occurred. 

On  the  following  morning  there  was  a  large  crowd  collected 
in  front  of  the  cathedral.  The  image,  instead  of  standing  in 
the  centre  of  the  church,  where,  upon  all  former  occasions,  it 
had  been  accustomed  during  the  week  succeeding  the  cere- 
mony to  receive  congratulatory  visits,  was  now  ignominiously 
placed  behind  an  iron  railing  within  the  choir.  It  had  been 
deemed  imprudent  to  leave  it  exposed  to  sacrilegious  hands. 
The  precaution  excited  derision.  Many  vagabonds  of  danger- 
ous appearance,  many  idle  apprentices  and  ragged  urchins 
were  hanging  for  a  long  time  about  the  imprisoned  image, 
peeping  through  the  railings,  and  indulging  in  many  a  brutal 
jest.  "  Mayken  !  Mayken  !"  they  cried,  *'  art  thou  terrified  so 
soon  ?  Hast  flown  to  thy  nest  so  early  ?  Dost  think  thyself 
beyond  the  reach  of  mischief  ?  Beware,  Mayken  !  thine  hour 
is  fast  approaching  !"      Others    thronged  around  the   balus- 


*  Bor,  ii.  83.     Heteren,  ii.  40.  \  Bor,  ubi  sup. 


558  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

trade,  shouting  "  Vivent  les  gueux  !"  and  hoarsely  command- 
ing the  image  to  join  in  the  beggars' cry.  Then,  leaving  the 
spot,  the  mob  roamed  idly  about  the  magnificent  church,  sneer- 
ing at  the  idols,  execrating  the  gorgeous  ornaments,  scoffing  at 
crucifix  and  altar. 

Presently  one  of  the  rabble,  a  ragged  fellow  of  mechanical 
aspect,  in  a  tattered  black  doublet  and  an  old  straw  hat, 
ascended  the  pulpit.  Opening  a  sacred  volume  which  he 
found  there,  he  began  to  deliver  an  extemporaneous  and 
coarse  caricature  of  a  monkish  sermon.  Some  of  the  by- 
standers applauded,  some  cried  shame,  some  shouted  "  long 
live  the  beggars  !"  some  threw  sticks  and  rubbish  at  the 
mountebank,  some  caught  him  by  the  legs  and  strove  to  pull 
him  from  the  place.  He,  on  the  other  hand,  manfully  main- 
tained his  ground,  hurling  back  every  missile,  struggling  with 
his  assailants,  and  continuing  the  while  to  pour  forth  a  malig- 
nant and  obscene  discourse.  At  last  a  young  sailor,  warm  in 
the  Catholic  Faith,  and  impulsive  as  mariners  are  prone  to 
be,  ascended  the  pulpit  from  behind,  sprang  upon  the  me- 
chanic, and  flung  him  headlong  down  the  steps.  The  preacher 
grarjpled  with  his  enemy  as  he  fell,  and  both  came  rolling  to 
the  ground.  Neither  was  much  injured,  but  a  tumult  ensued. 
A  pistol-shot  was  fired,  and  the  sailor  wounded  in  the  arm. 
Daggers  were  drawn,  cudgels  brandished,  the  bystanders  tak- 
ing part  generally  against  the  sailor,  while  those  who  protected 
him  were  somewhat  bruised  and  belabored  before  they  could 
convey  him  out  of  the  church.  Nothing  more,  however, 
transpired  that  day,  and  the  keepers  of  the  cathedral  were 
enabled  to  expel  the  crowd  and  to  close  the  doors  for  the 
night.  * 

Information  of  this  tumult  was  brought  to  the  senate,  then 
assembled  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  That  body  was  thrown  into 
a  state  of  great  perturbation.  In  losing  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
they  seemed  to  have  lost  their  own  brains,  and  the  first  meas- 
ure which  they  took  was   to  despatch   a   messenger  to   im- 


*  Bor,  ii.  83.     Hoofd,  iii.  99.     Strada,  v.  211.     Meteren,  40. 


1566.]  A   VULGAR   RIOT.  559 

plore  his  return.  In  the  mean  time,  it  was  necessary  that 
they  should  do  something  for  themselves.  It  was  evident 
that  a  storm  was  brewing.  The  pest  which  was  sweeping  so 
rapidly  through  the  provinces  would  soon  be  among  them. 
Symptoms  of  the  dreaded  visitation  were  already  but  too 
manifest.  What  precaution  should  they  take  ?  Should  they 
issue  a  proclamation  ?  Such  documents  had  been  too  common 
of  late,  and  had  lost  their  virtue.  It  was  the  time  not  to 
assert  but  to  exercise  authority.  Should  they  summon  the 
ward-masters,  and  order  the  instant  arming  and  mustering  of 
their  respective  companies  ?  Should  they  assemble  the  captains 
of  the  military  associations  ?  Nothing  better  could  have  been 
desired  than  such  measures  in  cases  of  invasion  or  of  ordinary 
tumult,  but  who  should  say  how  deeply  the  poison  had  sunk 
into  the  body  politic  ;  who  should  say  with  how  much  or  how 
little  alacrity  the  burgher  militia  would  obey  the  mandates  of 
the  magistracy  ?  It  would  be  better  to  issue  no  proclamation 
unless  they  could  enforce  its  provisions  ;  it  would  be  better  not 
to  call  out  the  citizen  soldiery  unless  they  were  likely  to  prove 
obedient.  Should  mercenary  troops  at  this  late  hour  be  sent 
for  ?  Would  not  their  appearance  at  this  crisis  rather  inflame 
the  rage  than  intimidate  the  insolence  of  the  sectaries  ? 
Never  were  magistrates  in  greater  perplexity.  They  knew  not 
what  course  was  likely  to  prove  the  safest,  and  in  their  anxiety 
to  do  nothing  wrong,  the  senators  did  nothing  at  all.  After  a 
long  and  anxious  consultation,  the  honest  burgomaster  and 
his  associates  all  went  home  to  their  beds,  hoping  that  the 
threatening  flame  of  civil  tumult  would  die  out  of  itself,  or 
perhaps  that  their  dreams  would  supply  them  with  that  wis- 
dom which  seemed  denied  to  their  waking  hours.* 

In  the  morning,  as  it  was  known  that  no  precaution  had 
been  taken,  the  audacity  of  the  Reformers  was  naturally 
increased.  Within  the  cathedral  a  great  crowd  was  at  an 
early  hour  collected,  whose  savage  looks  and  ragged  appear- 
ance denoted  that  the  day  and  night  were  not  likely  to  pass 


*  Bor,  ii.  83,  84.     Iloofd,  iii.  99. 


560  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

away  so  jjeacefully  as  the  last.  The  same  taunts  and  impre- 
cations were  hurled  at  the  image  of  the  Virgin  ;  the  same 
howling  of  the  beggars'  cry  resounded  through  the  lofty 
arches.  For  a  few  hours,  no  act  of  violence  was  committed, 
but  the  crowd  increased.  A  few  trifles,  drifting,  as  usual, 
before  the  event,  seemed  to  indicate  the  approaching  convul- 
sion. A  very  paltry  old  woman  excited  the  image-breaking  of 
Antwerp.  She  had  for  years  been  accustomed  to  sit  before  the 
door  of  the  cathedral  with  wax-tapers  and  wTafers,  earning  a 
scanty  subsistence  from  the  profits  of  her  meagre  trade,  and  by 
the  small  coins  which  she  sometimes  received  in  charity. 
Some  of  the  rabble  began  to  chaffer  with  this  ancient  huck- 
steress.  They  scoffed  at  her  consecrated  wares  ;  they  bandied 
with  her  ribald  jests,  of  which  her  public  position  had 
furnished  her  with  a  supjxly  ;  they  assured  her  that  the  hour 
had  come  when  her  idolatrous  traffic  was  to  be  forever  termin- 
ated, when  she  and  her  patroness,  Mary,  were  to  be  given 
over  to  destruction  together.  The  old  woman,  enraged, 
answered  threat  with  threat,  and  gibe  with  gibe.  Passing  from 
words  to  deeds,  she  began  to  catch  from  the  ground  every 
offensive  missile  or  weapon  which  she  could  find,  and  to  lay 
about  her  in  all  directions.  Her  tormentors  defended  them- 
selves as  they  could.  Having  destroyed  her  whole  stock-in- 
trade,  they  provoked  others  to  appear  in  her  defence.  The 
passers-by  thronged  to  the  scene  ;  the  cathedral  was  soon  filled 
to  overflowing  ;  a  furious  tumult  was  already  in  progress.* 

Many  persons  fled  in  alarm  to  the  town-house,  carrying  in- 
formation of  this  outbreak  to  the  magistrates.  John  Van 
Immerzeel,  Margrave  of  Antwerp,  was  then  holding  commu- 
nication with  the  senate,  and  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  ward- 
masters,  whom  it  had  at  last  been  thought  expedient  to  sum- 
mon. Upon  intelligence  of  this  riot,  which  the  militia,  if 
previously  mustered,  might  have  prevented,  the  senate  determ- 
ined to  proceed  to  the  cathedral  in  a  body,  with  the  hope  of 
quelling  the  mob  by  the  dignity  of  their  presence.     The  mar- 


*  Bor,  ii.  83.     Hoofd,  iii.  100.     Meteren,  ii.  40. 


1566.]  THE   HURRICANE.  561 

grave,  who  was  the  high  executive  officer  of  the  little  common- 
wealth, marched  down  to  the  cathedral  accordingly,  attended 
by  the  two  burgomasters  and  all  the  senators.  At  first  their 
authority,  solicitations,  and  personal  influence,  produced  a 
good  effect.  Some  of  those  outside  consented  to  retire,  and 
the  tumult  partially  subsided  within.  As  night,  however,  was 
fast  approaching,  many  of  the  mob  insisted  upon  remaining 
for  evening  mass.  They  were  informed  that  there  would  be 
none  that  night,  and  that  for  once  the  people  could  certainly 
dispense  with  their  vespers. 

Several  persons  now  manifesting  an  intention  of  leaving 
the  cathedral,  it  was  suggested  to  the  senators  that  if  they 
should  lead  the  way,  the  populace  would  follow  in  their  train, 
and  so  disperse  to  their  homes.  The  excellent  magistrates 
took  the  advice,  not  caring,  perhaps,  to  fulfil  any  longer  tho 
dangerous  but  not  dignified  functions  of  police  officers.  Before 
departing,  they  adopted  the  precaution  of  closing  all  the  doors 
of  the  church,  leaving  a  single  one  open,  that  the  rabble  still 
remaining  might  have  an  opportunity  to  depart.  It  seemed 
not  to  occur  to  the  senators  that  the  same  gate  would  as  con- 
veniently afford  an  entrance  for  those  without  as  an  egress  for 
those  within.  That  unlooked-for  event  happened,  however. 
No  sooner  had  the  magistrates  retired  than  the  rabble  burst 
through  the  single  door  which  had  been  left  open,  overpowered 
the  margrave,  who,  with  a  few  attendants,  had  remained 
behind,  vainly  endeavoring  by  threats  and  exhortations  to 
appease  the  tumult,  drove  him  ignominiously  from  the 
church,  and  threw  all  the  other  portals  wide  open.  Then  the 
populace  flowed  in  like  an  angry  sea.  The  whole  of  the  cathe- 
dral was  at  the  mercy  of  the  rioters,  who  were  evidently  bent 
on  mischief.  The  wardens  and  treasurers  of  the  church, 
after  a  vain  attempt  to  sectire  a  few  of  its  most  precious 
possessions,  retired.  They  carried  the  news  to  the  senators, 
who,  accompanied  by  a  few  halberdmen,  again  ventured  to 
approach  the  spot.  It  was  but  for  a  moment,  however,  for, 
appalled  by  the  furious  sounds  which  came  from  within  the 
church,  as  if  subterranean  and  invisible  forces  were  preparing 

vol.  i.  36 


562  THE   RISE   OF   THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

a  catastrophe  which  no  human  power  could  withstand,  the  mag- 
istrates fled  precipitately  from  the  scene.  Fearing  that  the 
next  attack  would  be  upon  the  town-house,  they  hastened  to 
concentrate  at  that  point  their  available  forces,  and  left  the 
stately  cathedral  to  its  fate.* 

And  now,  as  the  shadows  of  night  were  deepening  the  per- 
petual twilight  of  the  church,  the  work  of  destruction  com- 
menced. Instead  of  evening  mass  rose  the  fierce  music  of  a 
psalm,  yelled  by  a  thousand  angry  voices.  It  seemed  the  pre- 
concerted signal  for  a  general  attack.  A  band  of  marauders 
flew  upon  the  image  of  the  Virgin,  dragged  it  forth  from  its 
receptacle,  plunged  daggers  into  its  inanimate  body,  tore  off  its 
jewelled  and  embroidered  garments,  broke  the  whole  figure  into 
a  thousand  pieces,  and  scattered  the  fragments  along  the  floor. 
A  wild  shout  succeeded,  and  then  the  work  which  seemed  del- 
egated to  a  comparatively  small  number  of  the  assembled  crowd, 
went  on  with  incredible  celerity.  Some  were  armed  with  axes, 
some  with  bludgeons,  some  with  sledge-hammers  ;  others 
brought  ladders,  pulleys,  ropes,  and  levers.  Every  statue  was 
hurled  from  its  niche,  every  picture  torn  from  the  wall,  eveiy 
wonderfully-painted  window  shivered  to  atoms,  every  ancient 
monument  shattered,  every  sculptured  decoration,  however  in- 
accessible in  appearance,  hurled  to  the  ground.  Indefatigably, 
audaciously,  endowed,  as  it  seemed,  with  preternatural 
strength  and  nimbleness,  these  furious  iconoclasts  clambered 
up  the  dizzy  heights,  shrieking  and  chattering  like  malignant 
apes,  as  they  tore  off  in  triumph  the  slowly-matured  fruit  of 
centuries.  In  a  space  of  time  wonderfully  brief,  they  had  ac- 
complished their  task. 

A  colossal  and  magnificent  group  of  the  Saviour  crucified 
between  two  thieves  adorned  the  principal  altar.  The  statue 
of  Christ  was  wrenched  from  its  place  with  ropes  and  pulleys, 
while  the  malefactors,  with  bitter  and  blasphemous  irony,  were 
left  on  high,  the  only  representatives  of  the  marble  crowd 
which  had  been  destroyed.     A  very  beautiful  piece  of  archi- 


*  Bor,  ii.  83,  84.    Hoofd,  iii.  100,  sqq..     Strada,  v.  212.     Meteren,  ii.  40. 


1566.]  PRETERHUMAN    MISCHIEF.  56o 

tecture  decorated  the  choir,— the  "  repository,"  as  it  was  called, 
in  which  the  body  of  Christ  was  figuratively  enshrined.  This 
much-admired  work  rested  upon  a  single  column,  but  rose, 
arch  upon  arch,  pillar  upon  pillar,  to  the  height  of  three  hun- 
dred feet,  till  quite  lost  in  the  vault  above.*  "  It  was  now 
shattered  into  a  million  pieces."  The  statues,  images,  pic- 
tures, ornaments,  as  they  lay  upon  the  ground,  were  broken 
with  sledge-hammers,  hewn  with  axes,  trampled,  torn,  and 
beaten  into  shreds.  A  troop  of  harlots,  snatching  waxen  ta- 
pers from  the  altars,  stood  around  the  destroyers  and  lighted 
them  at  their  work.  Nothing  escaped  their  omnivorous  rage. 
They  desecrated  seventy  chapels,  forced  open  all  the  chests  of 
treasure,  covered  their  own  squalid  attire  with  the  gorgeous 
robes  of  the  ecclesiastics,  broke  the  sacred  bread,  poured  out 
the  sacramental  wine  into  golden  chalices,  quaffing  huge 
draughts  to  the  beggars'  health  ;  burned  all  the  splendid  mis- 
sals and  manuscripts,  and  smeared  their  shoes  with  the  sacred 
oil,  with  which  kings  and  prelates  had  been  anointed.  It 
seemed  that  each  of  these  malicious  creatures  must  have  been 
endowed  with  the  strength  of  a  hundred  giants.  How  else,  in 
the  few  brief  hours  of  a  midsummer  night,  could  such  a  mon- 
strous desecration  have  been  accomplished  by  a  troop  which, 
according  to  all  accounts,  was  not  more  than  one  hundred  in 
number,  f  There  was  a  multitude  of  spectators,  as  upon  all 
such  occasions,  but  the  actual  spoilers  were  very  few. 

The  noblest  and  richest  temple  of  the  Netherlands  was  a 
wreck,  but  the  fury  of  the  spoilers  was  excited,  not  appeased. 
Each  seizing  a  burning  torch,  the  whole  herd  rushed  from  the 
cathedral,  and  swept  howling  through  the  streets.  "  Long 
live  the  beggars  !"  resounded  through  the  sultry  midnight  air, 
as  the  ravenous  pack  flew  to  and  fro,  smiting  every  image  of 
the  Virgin,  every  crucifix,  every  sculptured  saint,  every  Catholic 
symbol  which  they  met  with  upon  their  path.    All  night  long, 

*  Pontus  Payen  MS. 

f  Correspoadanco  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  183. — Compare  Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem., 
97;  Strada,  v.  213  ;  Hoofd,  iiL  101.  Burgon,  ii.  137-141.  Bor,  ii.  84;  Meteren, 
ii.  40 ;  Bentivoglio,  ii.  35,  36. 


564  THE   EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

they  roamed  from  one  sacred  edifice  to  another,  thoroughly 
destroying  as  they  went.  Before  morning  they  had  sacked 
thirty  churches  within  the  city  walls.  They  entered  the 
monasteries,  burned  their  invaluable  libraries,  destroyed  their 
altars,  statues,  pictures,  and  descending  into  the  cellars,  broached 
every  cask  which  they  found  there,  pouring  out  in  one  great 
flood  all  the  ancient  wine  and  ale  with  which  those  holy 
men  had  been  wont  to  solace  their  retirement  from  generation 
to  generation.  They  invaded  the  nunneries,  whence  the  occu- 
pants, panic-stricken,  fled  for  refuge  to  the  houses  of  their 
friends  and  kindred.  The  streets  were  filled  with  monks  and 
nuns,  running  this  way  and  that,  shrieking  and  fluttering,  to 
escape  the  claws  of  these  fiendish  Calvinists.*  The  terror  was 
imaginary,  for  not  the  least  remarkable  feature  in  these  transac- 
tions was,  that  neither  insult  nor  injury  was  offered  to  man  or 
woman,  and  that  not  a  farthing's  value  of  the  immense  amount 
of  property  destroyed,  was  appropriated.  It  was  a  war  not 
against  the  living,  but  against  graven  images,  nor  was  the 
sentiment  which  prompted  the  onslaught  in  the  least  com- 
mingled with  a  desire  of  plunder.  The  principal  citizens  of 
Antwerp,  expecting  every  instant  that  the  storm  would  be 
diverted  from  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  to  private  dwellings, 
and  that  robbery,  rape,  and  murder  would  follow  sacrilege, 
remained  all  night  expecting  the  attack,  and  prepared  to  defend 
their  hearths,  even  if  the  altars  were  profaned.  The  precau- 
tion was  needless.  It  was  asserted  by  the  Catholics  that  the 
confederates  and  other  opulent  Protestants  had  organized  this 
company  of  profligates  for  the  meagre  pittance  of  ten  stivers 
a-day.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  believed  by  many  that  the 
Catholics  had  themselves  plotted  the  whole  outrage  in  order 
to  bring  odium  upon  the  Keformers.  Both  statements  were 
equally  unfounded.    The  task  was  most  thoroughly  performed, 

*  Strada,  v.  215.  Hoofd.  Bor,  ubi  sup.  "Yous  eussiez  vcu,"  says  Pontus 
Payen,  "  les  pauvres  nonains  sortir  de  leurs  monasteres  en  habits  deguisez  ct 
les  aucunes  a  demye  couvertes,  se  sauver  en  maisons  de  leurs  parens  et  amis,  ct 
les  prestres  et  Moines  couroient  que  ea  et  que  li,  fuians  les  griffes  de  ces  malins 
reforai6s,"  etc.,  etc. — MS.,  liv.  ii. 


1566.]  DURATION    OF    THE    HAVOC.  565 

but  it  was  prompted  by  a  furious  fanaticism,  not  by  baser 
motives.* 

Two  days  and  nights  longer  the  havoc  raged  unchecked 
through  all  the  churches  of  Antwerp  and  the  neighboring 
villages.  Hardly  a  statue  cr  picture  escaped  destruction. 
Fortunately,  the  illustrious  artist,  whose  labors  were  destined 
in  the  next  generation  to  enrich  and  ennoble  the  city,  Ku- 
bens,  most  profound  of  colorists,  most  dramatic  of  artists, 
whose  profuse  tropical  genius  seemed  to  flower  the  more 
luxuriantly,  as  if  the  destruction  wrought  by  brutal  hands 
were  to  be  compensated  by  the  creative  energy  of  one  divine 
spirit,  had  not  yet  been  born.  Of  the  treasures  which  existed 
the  destruction  was  complete.  Yet  the  rage  was  directed 
exclusively  against  stocks  and  stones.  Not  a  man  was 
wounded  nor  a  woman  outraged.  Prisoners,  indeed,  who  had 
been  languishing  hopelessly  in  dungeons  were  liberated.  A 
monk,  who  had  been  in  the  prison  of  the  Barefoot  Monastery, 
for  twelve  years,  recovered  his  freedom.  Art  was  trampled 
in  the  dust,  but  humanity  deplored  no  victims.f 

These  leading  features  characterized  the  movement  every 
where.  The  process  was  simultaneous  and  almost  universal. 
It  was  difficult  to  say  where  it  began  and  where  it  ended. 
A  few  days  in  the  midst  cf  August  sufficed  for  the  whole 
work.  The  number  of  churches  desecrated  has  never  been 
counted.  In  the  single  province  of  Flanders,  four  hundred 
were  sacked.;*;  In  Limburg,  Luxemburg,  and  Namur,§  there 
was  no  image-breaking.  In  Mechlin,  seventy  or  eighty  per- 
sons accomplished  the  work  thoroughly,  in  the  very  teeth  of 
the  grand  council,  and  of  an  astonished  magistracy.|| 

In  Tournay,  a  city  distinguished  for  its  ecclesiastical  splen- 
dor, the  reform  had  been  making  great  progress  during  the 


:::  Burgon,  ii.  137-141.     Bor,  ii.  89.     Hoofd,  iii.  101.     Hopper,  97. 
f  Meteren,  ii.  40.     Bor,  ii.  84.     Strada,  v.  215,  21C. 
\  Correspondance  do  Marg.  d'Autriche,  183. 
§  Hoofd,  iii.  103. 

\  Pontus  Payen  MS.    According  to  Renom  de  France,  the.  work  was  done  by 
thirty  or  forty  "personnes  de  nulle  qualite." — MS.  i.  c.  20. 


566  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

summer.  At  the  same  time  the  hatred  between  the  two  re- 
ligions had  been  growing  more  and  more  intense.  Trifles  and 
serious  matters  alike  fed  the  mutual  animosity. 

A  tremendous  outbreak  had  been  nearly  occasioned  by  an 
insignificant  incident.  A  Jesuit  of  some  notoriety  had  been 
preaching  a  glowing  discourse  in  the  pulpit  of  Notre  Dame. 
He  earnestly  avowed  his  wish  that  he  were  good  enough 
to  die  for  all  his  hearers.  He  proved  to  demonstration  that 
no  man  should  shrink  from  torture  or  martyrdom  in  order 
to  sustain  the  ancient  faith.  As  he  was  thus  expatiating,  his 
fervid  discourse  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  three  sharp,  sud- 
den blows,  of  a  very  peculiar  character,  struck  upon  the  great 
portal  of  the  Church.  The  priest,  forgetting  his  love  for 
martyrdom,  turned  pale  and  dropped  under  the  pulpit.  Hur- 
rying clown  the  steps,  he  took  refuge  in  the  vestry,  locking 
and  barring  the  door.  The  congregation  shared  in  his  panic. 
"  The  beggars  are  coming/'  was  the  general  cry.  There  was 
a  horrible  tumult,  which  extended  through  the  city  as  the 
congregation  poured  precipitately  out  of  the  Cathedral,  to 
escape  a  band  of  destroying  and  furious  Calvinists.  Yet 
when  the  shock  had  a  little  subsided,  it  was  discovered  that  a 
small  urchin  was  the  cause  of  the  whole  tumult.  Having  been 
bathing  in  the  Scheldt,  he  had  returned  by  way  of  the  church 
with  a  couple  of  bladders  under  his  arm.  He  had  struck 
these  against  the  door  of  the  Cathedral,  partly  to  dry  them, 
partly  from  a  love  of  mischief.  Thus  a  great  uproar,  in  the 
course  of  which  it  had  been  feared  that  Tournay  was  to  be 
sacked  and  drenched  in  blood,  had  been  caused  by  a  little 
wanton  boy  who  had  been  swimming  on  bladders.0 

This  comedy  preceded  by  a  few  days  only  the  actual 
disaster.  On  the  22d  of  August  the  news  reached  Tournay 
that  the  churches  in  Antwerp,  Ghent,  and  many  other  places, 
had  been  sacked.  There  was  an  instantaneous  movement 
towards  imitating  the  example  on  the  same  evening.  Pas- 
quier  de  la  Barre,  procureur-general  of  the  city,  succeeded  by 


*  De  la  Barre  MS.,  26,  27. 


1566.]  THE   TOTJRNAY   DRAMA.  567 

much  entreaty  in  tranquillizing  the  people  for  the  night.  The 
"guard  of  terror"  was  set,  and  hopes  were  entertained  that 
the  storm  might  blow  over.  The  expectation  was  vain.  At 
daybreak  next  day,  the  mob  swept  upon  the  churches  and 
stripped  them  to  the  very  walls.  Pictures,  statues,  organs, 
ornaments,  chalices  of  silver  and  gold,  reliquaries,  albs,  cha- 
subles, copes,  cibories,  crosses,  chandeliers,  lamps,  censers,  all  of 
richest  material,  glittering  with  pearls,  rubies,  and  other  prec- 
ious stones,  were  scattered  in  heaps  of  ruin  upon  the  ground.* 
As  the  spoilers  burrowed  among  the  ancient  tombs,  they 
performed,  in  one  or  two  instances,  acts  of  startling  posthumous 
justice.  The  embalmed  body  of  Duke  Adolphus  of  Gueldres, 
last  of  the  Egmonts,  who  had  reigned  in  that  province,  was 
dragged  from  its  sepulchre  and  recognized.f  Although  it  had 
been  there  for  ninety  years,  it  was  as  uncorrupted,  "  owing  to 
the  excellent  spices  which  had  preserved  it  from  decay,"^  as 
upon  the  day  of  burial.  Thrown  upon  the  marble  floor  of 
the  church,  it  lay  several  days  exposed  to  the  execrations  of 
the  multitude.§  The  Duke  had  committed  a  crime  against 
his  father,  in  consequence  of  which  the  province  which  had 
been  ruled  by  native  races,  had  passed  under  the  dominion  of 
Charles  the  Bold.  Weary  of  waiting  for  the  old  Duke's  in- 
heritance, he  had  risen  against  him  in  open  rebellion.  Drag- 
ging him  from  his  bed  at  midnight  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
he  had  compelled  the  old  man,  with  no  covering  but  his  night 
gear,  to  walk  with  naked  feet  twenty-five  miles  over  ice  and 
snow  from  Grave  to  Burcn,  while  he  himself  performed  the 
same  journey  in  his  company  on  horseback.  He  had  then 
thrown  him  into  a  dungeon  beneath  the  tower  of  Buren  castle 
and    kept   him  a   close   prisoner  for   six   months. [|     At  last, 

e  Pasquier.de  la  Barro  MS.,  33. 

f  Nic.  Burgundi  Hist.  Belg.  (Ingolstadt,  1629),  iii.  315-31S. 

%  Pontus  Payen  MS.  §  Ibid. 

||  Memoires  de  Philippe  de  Comines  (Lond.  et  Paris,  1T47),  liv.  iv.  194-19G. 
In  the  Royal  Gallery  at  Berlin  is  a  startling  picture  by  Rembrandt,  in  which 
the  old  Duke  is  represented  looking  out  of  the  bars  of  his  dungeon  at  his  son, 
who  is  threatening  him  with  uplifted  hand  and  savage  face.  No  subject  could  be 
imagined  better  adapted  to  the  gloomy  and  sarcastic  genius  of  that  painter. 


568  THE   EISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

the  Duke  of  Burgundy  summoned  the  two  before  his  council, 
and  proposed  that  Adolphus  should  allow  his  father  6000 
florins  annually,  with  the  title  of  Duke  till  his  death.  "  He 
told  us/'  said  Cornines,  "  that  he  would  sooner  throw  the  old 
man  head-foremost  down  a  well  and  jump  in  himself  afterwards. 
His  father  had  been  Duke  forty-four  years,  and  it  was  time  for 
him  to  retire."  Adolphus  being  thus  intractable,  had  been 
kept  in  prison  till  after  the  death  of  Charles  the  Bold.  To 
the  memorable  insurrection  of  Ghent,  in  the  time  of  the  Lady 
Mary,  he  owed  his  liberty.  The  insurgent  citizens  took  him 
from  prison,  and  caused  him  to  lead  them  in  their  foray  against 
Tournay.*  Beneath  the  walls  of  that  city  he  was  slain,  and 
buried  under  its  cathedral.  And  now  as  if  his  offence  had 
not  been  sufficiently  atoned  for  by  the  loss  of  his  ancestral 
honors,  his  captivity,  and  his  death,  the  earth,  after  the  lapse 
of  nearly  a  century,  had  cast  him  forth  from  her  bosom. 
There,  once  more  beneath  the  sunlight,  amid  a  ribald  crew  of 
a  later  generation  which  had  still  preserved  the  memory  of 
his  sin,  lay  the  body  of  the  more  than  parricide,  whom  "  ex- 
cellent spices"  had  thus  preserved  from  corruption,  only  to  be 
the  mark  of  scorn  and  demoniac  laughter. f 

A  large  assemblage  of  rioters,  growing  in  numbers  as  they 
advanced,  swept  over  the  province  of  Tournay,  after  accom- 
plishing the  sack  of  the  city  churches.  Armed  with  halberds, 
hammers,  and  pitchforks,  they  carried  on  the  war,  day  after 
day,  against  the  images.  At  the  convent  of  Marchiennes, 
considered  by  contemporaries  the  most  beautiful  abbey  in  all 
the  Netherlands,  they  halted  to  sing  the  ten  commandments 
in  Marot's  verse.  Hardly  had  the  vast  chorus  finished  the 
precept  against  graven  images ; 

Taiiler  ne  te  feras  imaige 

De  quelque  chose  que  ce  soit, 
Sy  honneur  luy  fais  ou  hommaige, 

Bon  Dieu  jalousie  en  recoit, 

Avhen  the  whole  mob  seemed  seized   with  sudden  madness. 


o  Ibid. 

*  Nic.  Burgundi.  ubi  sup.     Pontus  Payen  MS.     G.  Brandt,  i.  355,  356. 


1566.]  SOURCE    OF   THE   TUMULTS.  569 

Without  waiting  to  complete  the  Psalm,  they  fastened  upon 
the  company  of  marble  martyrs,  as  if  they  had  possessed  sen- 
sibility to  feel  the  blows  inflicted.  In  an  hour  they  had  laid 
the  whole  in  ruins.* 

Having  accomplished  this  deed,  they  swept  on  towards 
Anchin.  Here,  however,  they  were  confronted  by  the  Seigneur 
de  la  Tour,  who,  at  the  head  of  a  small  company  of  peasants, 
attacked  the  marauders  and  gained  a  complete  vietory.  Five 
or  six  hundred  of  them  were  slain,  others  were  drowned  in 
the  river  and  adjacent  swamps,  the  rest  were  dispersed. f  It 
was  thus  proved  that  a  little  more  spirit  upon  the  part  of  the 
orderly  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  might  have  brought  about 
a  different  result  than  the  universal  image-breaking. 

In  Valenciennes,  "the  tragedy,"  as  an  eye-witness  calls  it, 
was  performed  upon  Saint  Bartholomew's  day.  It  was,  how- 
ever, only  a  tragedy  of  statues.  Hardly  as  many  senseless 
stones  were  victims  as  there  were  to  be  living  Huguenots  sacri- 
ficed in  a  single  city  upon  a  Bartholomew  which  was  fast  ap- 
proaching. In  the  Valenciennes  massacre,  not  a  human  being 
was  injured. 

Such  in  general  outline  and  in  certain  individual  details, 
was  the  celebrated  iconomachy  of  the  Netherlands.  The 
movement  was  a  sudden  explosion  of  popular  revenge  against 
the  symbols  of  that  Church  from  which  the  Reformers  had  been 
enduring  such  terrible  persecution.  It  was  also  an  expression 
of  the  general  sympathy  for  the  doctrines  which  had  taken 
possession  of  the  national  heart.  It  was  the  depravation  of 
that  instinct  which  had  in  the  beginning  of  the  summer 
drawn  Calvinists  and  Lutherans  forth  in  armed  bodies,  twenty 
thousand  strong,  to  worship  God  in  the  open  fields.  The 
difference  between  the  two  phenomena  was,  that  the  field- 
preaching  was  a  crime  committed  by  the  whole  mass  of  the 
Reformers  ;  men,  women,  and  children  confronting  the  penal- 
ties of  death,  by  a  general  determination,  while  the  image- 
breaking  was  the  act  of  a  small  portion  of  the  populace.     A 


*  Poutus  Payon  MS.,  ii.  t  Ibid-     Hopper,  98.  "• 


570  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1560 

hundred  persons  belonging  to  the  lowest  order  of  society 
sufficed  for  the  desecration  of  the  Antwerp  churches.  It  was, 
said  Orange,  "a  mere  handful  of  rabble"  who  did  the  deed.* 
Sir  Richard  Clough  saw  ten  or  twelve  persons  entirely  sack 
church  after  church,  while  ten  thousand  spectators  looked  on, 
indifferent  or  horror-struck.  The  bands  of  iconoclasts  were 
of  the  lowest  character,  and  few  in  number.  Perhaps  the 
largest  assemblage  was  that  which  ravaged  the  province  of 
Tournay,  but  this  was  so  weak  as  to  be  entirely  routed  by  a 
small  and  determined  force.  The  duty  of  repression  devolved 
upon  both  Catholics  and  Protestants.  Neither  party  stirred. 
All  seemed  overcome  with  special  wonder  as  the  tempest  swept 
over  the  land. 

The  ministers  of  the  Reformed  religion,  and  the  chiefs  ol 
the  liberal  party,  all  denounced  the  image-breaking.  Francis 
Juniusf  bitterly  regretted  such  excesses.  Ambrose  Willc, 
pure  of  all  participation  in  the  crime,  stood  up  before  ten 
thousand  Reformers  at  Tournay — even  while  the  storm  was 
raging  in  the  neighboring  cities,  and  when  many  voices 
around  him  were  hoarsely  commanding  similar  depravities— 
to  rebuke  the  outrages  by  which  a  sacred  cause  was  dis- 
graced.:;: The  Prince  of  Orange,  in  his  private  letters, 
deplored  the  riots,  and  stigmatized  the  perpetrators.  Even 
Brederode,  while,  as  Suzerain  of  his  city  of  Viane,  he  ordered 
the  images  there  to  be  quietly  taken  from  the  churches,  charac- 
terized this  popular  insurrection  as  insensate  and  flagitious.§ 
Many  of  the  leading  confederates  not  only  were  offended  with 
the  proceedings,  but,  in  their  eagerness  to  chastise  the  icono- 
clasts and  to  escape  from  a  league  of  which  they  were  weary, 
began  to  take  severe  measures  against  the  Ministers  and  Re- 


*  "  Ein  hauffen  leichtfertiges  gesindlins. — Groen  v.  Prinst.  Archives,  ii.  262. 
"  So  sind  es  nuhr  geringschetzige  und  schlechto  leutho  gewesen  die  solches  ausz 
eigner  bewegung  und  ungedult  der  langen  zeitt  geubtten  unmenschliehen  ver- 
folgung  begangen  haben." — Letter  of  Orange  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony  in  Archives 
et  Correspondance,  ii.  484. 

f  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  ii.  217,  218.  %  De  la  Barro  MS. 

§  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  etc.,  ii.  261,  265,  483. 


1566.]  CHARACTERISTIC    OF   THE   TUMULTS.  571 

formers,  of  whom  they  had  constituted  themselves  in  April  the 
especial  protectors. 

The  next  remarkable  characteristic  of  these  tumults  was  the 
almost  entire  abstinence  of  the  rioters  from  personal  outrage 
and  from  pillage.  The  testimony  of  a  very  bitter,  but  honest 
Catholic  at  Valenciennes,  is  remarkable  upon  this  point. 
'■'•'Certain  chroniclers,"  said  he,  "have  greatly  mistaken  the 
character  of  this  image-breaking.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
Calvinists  killed  a  hundred  priests  in  this  city,  cutting  some 
of  them  into  pieces,  and  burning  others  over  a  slow  fire. 
/  remember  very  well  every  tiling  which  happened  iipon  that 
abominable  day,  and  I  can  affirm  that  not  a  single  priest  was 
injured.  The  Huguenots  took  good  care  not  to  injure  in  any 
way  the  living  images."0  This  was  the  case  every  where. 
Catholic  and  Protestant  writers  agree  that  no  deeds  of  vio- 
lence were  committed  against  man  or  woman.'j" 

It  would  be  also  very  easy  to  accumulate  a  vast  weight  of 
testimony  as  to  their  forbearance  from  robbery.  They 
destroyed  for  destruction's  sake,  not  for  purposes  of  plunder. 
Although  belonging  to  the  lowest  classes  of  society,  they  left 
heaps  of  jewellery,  of  gold  and  silver  plate,  of  costly  em- 
broidery, lying  unheeded  upon  the  ground.  They  felt  in- 
stinctively that  a  great  passion  would  be  contaminated  by 
admixture  with  paltry  motives.  In  Flanders  a  company  of 
rioters  hanged  one  of  their  own  number  for  stealing  articles 
to  the  value  of  five  shillings. £  In  Valenciennes  the  icono- 
clasts were  offered  large  sums  if  they  would  refrain  from 
desecrating  the  churches  of  that  city,  but  they  rejected  the 
proposal  with  disdain.  The  honest  Catholic  burgher  who 
recorded  the  fact,  observed  that  he  did  so  because  of  the 
many  misrepresentations  on  the  subject,  not  because  he  wished 
to  flatter  heresy  and  rebellion.§ 

*  Histoiro  des  choses  les  plus  memorables,  etc. — MS. 

f  See  Letter  of  Clough  already  quoted. — Compare  Strada,  v.  215,  for  proofs  of 
the  abstinence  from  insult  of  tho  nuns  and  other  women  on  this  memorable 
occasion.  \  Burgon,  ubi  sup. 

§  "Ce  n'est  pas  que  je  veuille  flatter  la  rebellion  et  I'heresie,  ny  la  qualifier 
beninene  et  debonnairc." — Valenciennes  MS. 


572  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

At  Tournay,  the  greatest  scrupulousness  was  observed  upon 
this  point.  The  floor  of  the  cathedral  was  strewn  with 
"pearls  and  precious  stones,  with  chalices  and  reliquaries  of 
silver  and  gold  ; "  but  the  ministers  of  the  reformed  religion, 
in  company  with  the  magistrates,  came  to  the  spot,  and  found 
no  difficulty,  although  utterly  without  power  to  prevent  the 
storm,  in  taking  quiet  possession  of  the  wreck.  "  We  had 
every  thing  of  value,"  says  Procureur-Gene'ral  De  la  Barre, 
"  carefully  inventoried,  weighed,  locked  in  chests,  and  placed 
under  a  strict  guard  in  the  prison  of  the  Halle,  to  which  one 
set  of  keys  were  given  to  the  ministers,  and  another  to  the 
magistrates."*  Who  will  dare  to  censure  in  very  severe  lan- 
guage this  havoc  among  stocks  and  stones  in  a  land  where  so 
many  living  men  and  women,  of  more  value  than  many 
statues,  had  been  slaughtered  by  the  inquisition,  and  where 
Alva's  "  Blood  Tribunal"  was  so  soon  to  eclipse  even  that 
terrible  institution  in  the  number  of  its  victims  and  the  amount 
of  its  confiscations  ? 

Yet  the  effect  of  the  riots  was  destined  to  be  most  disastrous 
for  a  time  to  the  reforming  party.  It  furnished  plausible 
excuses  for  many  lukewarm  friends  of  their  cause  to  withdraw 
from  all  connection  with  it.f  Egmont  denounced  the  pro- 
ceedings as  highly  flagitious,  and  busied  himself  with  punish- 
ing the  criminals  in  Flanders.^.  The  Kegent  was  beside 
herself  with  indignation  and  terror.  Philip,  when  he  heard 
the  news,  fell  into  a  paroxysm  of  frenzy.  "  It  shall  cost  them 
dear  !"  he  cried,  as  he  tore  his  beard  for  rage  ;  "  it  shall  cost 
them  dear  !  I  swear  it  by  the  soul  of  my  father  !  "§  The 
Reformation  in  the  Netherlands,  by  the  fury  of  these  fanatics, 
was  thus  made  apparently  to  abandon  the  high  ground  upon 
which  it  had  stood  in  the  early  summer.  The  sublime  spec- 
tacle of  the  multitudinous  field-preaching  was  sullied  by  the 


*  Pasquier  do  la  Barre  MS.,  f.  33. 
f  Groen  v.  Prinst.,  Archives,  ii.  282. 
X  Pontus  Payen,  MS. 

§  Letter  of  Morillon  to  Granvelle,  29th  September,  1566,  in  Gachard,  Anal. 
Belg.,  254. 


1566.]  FIRST    EFFECTS.  573 

excesses  of  the  image-breaking.  The  religions  war,  before 
imminent,  became  inevitable. 

Nevertheless,  the  first  effect  of  the  tumults  was  a  temporary 
advantage  to  the  Keformers.  A  great  concession  was  extorted 
from  the  fears  of  the  Duchess  Eegent,  who  was  certainly  placed 
in  a  terrible  position.  Her  conduct  was  not  heroic,  although 
she  might  be  forgiven  for  trepidation.  Her  treachery,  how- 
ever, under  these  trying  circumstances  was  less  venial.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  22nd  of  August,* 
Orange,  Egmont,  Horn,  Hoogstraaten,  Mansfeld,  and  others 
were  summoned  to  the  jmlace.  They  found  her  already 
equipped  for  flight,  surrounded  by  her  waiting-women,  cham- 
berlains and  lackeys,  while  the  mules  and  hackneys  stood  har- 
nessed in  the  court-yard,  and  her  body-guard  were  prepared  to 
mount  at  a  moment's  notice.f  She  announced  her  intention 
of  retreating  at  once  to  Mons,  in  which  city,  owing  to 
Aerschot's  care,  she  hoped  to  find  refuge  against  the  fury  of 
the  rebellion  then  sweeping  the  country.  Her  alarm  was 
almost  beyond  control.  She  was  certain  that  the  storm  was 
ready  to  burst  upon  Brussels,  and  that  every  Catholic  was 
about  to  be  massacred  before  her  eyes.  Aremberg,  Berlay- 
mont,  and  Noircarmes  were  with  the  Duchess  when  the  other 
seigniors  arrived. 

A  part  of  the  Duke  of  Aerschot's  company  had  been  ordered 
out  to  escort  the  projected  flight  to  Mons.  Orange,  Horn, 
Egmont,  and  Hoogstraaten  implored  her  to  desist  from  her 
fatal  resolution.  They  represented  that  such  a  retreat  before 
a  mob  would  be  the  very  means  of  ruining  the  country.  They 
denounced  all  persons  who  had  counselled  the  scheme,  as 
enemies  of  his  Majesty  and  herself.  They  protested  their 
readiness  to  die  at  her  feet  in  her  defence,  but  besought  her 


*  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  188,  sqq.  Letter  of  Horn  in  Fop- 
pen's  Supplement,  iL  477,  sqq.  Vit.  Viglii,  47,  48.  Vigl.  Epist.  ad  Hop- 
perum,  373. 

f  Letter  of  Horn  to  Montigny,  in  Foppens'  and  in  Bvvoegsels'  Authent. 
Stukken  tot  de  Hist.  v.  P.  Bor.  i.  91,  92.  Vit.  Viglii,  ubi  supra.  Correspon- 
dance de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  ubi  sup.  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  452—454. 


574  THE   RISE   OF   THE   DUTCH   REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

not  to  abandon  the  post  of  duty  in  the  hour  of  peril.  While 
they  were  thus  anxiously  debating,  Viglius  entered  the  cham- 
ber. With  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks,  Margaret  turned 
to  the  aged  President,  uttering  fierce  reproaches  and  desponding 
lamentations.  Viglius  brought  the  news  that  the  citizens  had 
taken  possession  of  the  gates,  and  were  resolved  not  to  permit 
her  departure  from  the  city.  He  reminded  her,  according  to 
the  indispensable  practice  of  all  wise  counsellors,  that  he  had 
been  constantly  predicting  this  result.  He,  however,  failed  in 
administering  much  consolation,  or  in  suggesting  any  remedy. 
He  was,  in  truth,  in  as  great  a  panic  as  herself,  and  it  was, 
according  to  the  statement  of  the  Duchess,  mainly  in  order  to 
save  the  President  from  threatened  danger,  that  she  eventually 
resolved  to  make  concessions.  "  Viglius,"  wrote  Margaret  to 
Philip,  "  is  so  much  afraid  of  being  cut  to  pieces,  that  his 
timidity  has  become  incredible."*  Upon  the  warm  assurance 
of  Count  Horn,  that  he  would  enable  her  to  escape  from  the  city, 
should  it  become  necessary,  or  would  perish  in  the  attempt,  a 
promise  in  which  he  was  seconded  by  the  rest  of  the  seigniors, 
she  consented  to  remain  for  the  day  in  her  palace.f  Mans- 
feld  was  appointed  captain-general  of  the  city  ;  Egmont, 
Horn,  Orange,  and  the  others  agreed  to  serve  under  his 
orders,  and  all  went  down  together  to  the  town-house.  The 
magistrates  were  summoned,  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens 
was  convened,  and  the  announcement  made  of  Mansfeld's 
appointment,  together  with  an  earnest  appeal  to  all  honest 
men  to  support  the  Government.  The  appeal  was  answered 
by  a  shout  of  unanimous  approbation,  an  enthusiastic  promise 
to  live  or  die  with  the  Regent,  and  the  expression  of  a  resolu- 
tion to  permit  neither  reformed  preaching  nor  image-breaking 
within  the  city.^ 

Nevertheless,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  Duchess 
again  sent  for  the  seigniors.  She  informed  them  that  she  had 
received  fresh  and  certain  information,  that  the  churches  were 
to  be  sacked  that  very  night ;  that  Viglius,  Berlaymont,  and 

*  Correspondance  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  460,  461. 

f  Letter  of  Horn  to  Montigny,  ubi  sup.  $  Ibid. 


1566.]  PANIC    AND    CONCESSION.  575 

Aremberg  were  to  be  killed,  and  that  herself  and  Egmont  were 
to  be  taken  prisoners.  She  repeated  many  times  that  she  had 
been  ill-advised,  expressed  bitter  regret  at  having  deferred  her 
flight  from  the  city,  and  called  upon  those  who  had  obstructed 
her  plan,  now  to  fulfil  their  promises.  Turning  fiercely  upon 
Count  Horn,  she  uttered  a  volley  of  reproaches  upon  his  share 
in  the  transaction.  "  You  are  the  cause,"  said  she,  "  that  I 
am  now  in  this  position.  Why  do  you  not  redeem  your 
pledge  and  enable  me  to  leave  the  place  at  once."0  Horn 
replied  that  he  was  ready  to  do  so  if  she  were  resolved  to  stay 
no  longer.  He  would  at  the  instant  cut  his  way  through  the 
guard  at  the  Caudenberg  gate,  and  bring  her  out  in  safety,  or 
die  in  the  effort.  At  the  same  time  he  assured  her  that  he 
gave  no  faith  to  the  idle  reports  flying  about  the  city, 
reminded  her  that  nobles,  magistrates,  and  citizens  were  united 
in  her  defence,  and  in  brief  used  the  same  arguments  which 
had  before  been  used  to  pacify  her  alarm.  The  nobles  were 
again  successful  in  enforcing  their  counsels,  the  Duchess  was 
spared  the  ignominy  and  the  disaster  of  a  retreat  before  an 
insurrection  which  was  only  directed  against  statues,  and  the 
ecclesiastical  treasures  of  Brussels  were  saved  from  sacrilege.f 
On  the  25th  August  came  the  crowning  act  of  what  the 
Reformers  considered  their  most  complete  triumph,  and  the 
Regent  her  deepest  degradation.  It  was  found  necessary 
under  the  alarming  aspect  of  affairs,  that  liberty  of  worship,  in 
places  where  it  had  been  already  established,  should  be  accorded 
to  the  new  religion.  Articles  of  agreement  to  this  effect  were 
accordingly  drawn  up  and  exchanged  between  the  Government 
and  Lewis  of  Nassau,  attended  by  fifteen  others  of  the  confed- 
eracy. A  corresponding  pledge  was  signed  by  them,  that  so 
long  as  the  Eegent  was  true  to  her  engagement,  they  would 
consider  their  previously  existing  league  annulled,  and  would 
assist  cordially  in  every  endeavor  to  maintain  tranquillity  and 


*  Letter  of  Horn  to  Montignj,  ubi  sup.     Hoofd,  iii.  107.     Bor.  ii.  85. 

f  Ibid.  Ibid.  Ibid.  Correspondance  de  Marg.  d'Autriche,  ubL  sup. 
Correspondence  de  Philippe  II.,  i.  ubi  sup.  Groen  v.  Prinst-,  Archives  ii.  237, 
238.     Hopper,  Rec.  et  Mem..  99. 


576  THE    RISE    OF    THE    DUTCH    REPUBLIC.  [1566. 

support  the  authority  of  his  Majesty.  The  important  Accord 
was  then  duly  signed  by  the  Duchess.  It  declared  that  the 
inquisition  was  abolished,  that  his  Majesty  would  soon  issue  a 
new  general  edict,  expressly  and  unequivocally  protecting  the 
nobles  against  all  evil  consequences  from  past  transactions, 
that  they  were  to  be  employed  in  the  royal  service,  and  that 
public  preaching  according  to  the  forms  of  the  new  religion 
was  to  be  practised  in  places  where  it  had  already  taken  place. 
Letters  general  were  immediately  despatched  to  the  senates  of 
all  the  cities,  proclaiming  these  articles  of  agreement  and 
ordering  their  execution.0  Thus  for  a  fleeting  moment  there 
was  a  thrill  of  joy  throughout  the  Netherlands.  The  inqui- 
sition was  thought  forever  abolished,  the  era  of  religious 
reformation  arrived. 


e  Bor.  ii.  97,  93.     Hoofd,  iii.    109.     Strada,  v.  222.     Hopper,  Rec,  ct  Mem., 
99-202. 


NOTARIAL  INSTRUMENT  CONCERNING  TEE  MARRIAGE  OF  ORANGE 
WITH  ANNE  OF  SAXONY. 

MS.,  ROYAL   ARCHIVES,  DRESDEN. 


Jir  nahinen  der  heyligen  vntzurteilten  Dreifaltigkeit,  Gottes  Vaters, 
Gottes  Sones  vnnd  Gottes  heyligen  Geistes  Amen.  Nach  der  Geburt  vnsers 
ainigen  Heylandes  vnd  Seligmachers  Jesa  Christi.  Jm  funfFtzehenhundert 
vnd  ain  vnd  sechtzigsten  Jare,  der  virden  Roraer  tzinstzal,  zu  lutein  Jndic- 
tion  gnant,  Bey  Regirung  des  aller  durchlauchtigsten  grosmechtigsten  furs- 
ten  vnd  berren  hern  Ferdinauden  erwelten  Romiscben  Kaisers,  zcu  alien 
zeiten  mebrern  des  Reichs,  Jn  Germanien  zu  Yngern  Behem  Dalmacien 
Croacien  vnd  Sclavonien  Konigk  vnd  Infant  zu  Hispanien,  Ertzhertzog  czu 
Osterreicb  Hertzog  czu  Burgundt  zcu  Steier  Kernten  Krain  vnnd  "Wirtten- 
bergk  Graffen  czu  Tiroll  vnd  vnsers  allergnedigsten  Herren,  seiner  Kay. 
Ait.  Regirung  der  Romiscben,  31.  vnd  der  andernn  jm  35.,  Sonntags 
am  tage  Bartbolomei  Apostoli,  welcher  war  der  24.  monatstag  Augus- 
ti,  nacb  bescbehnem  Stadtlichem  einzoug,  vff  das  furstlicbe  beylager  zwus- 
chen  den  durcbbiucbtigen  bocbgebornen  fursten  vnd  fiirstin,  Hern  "Wil- 
lielmen  Printzen  czu  Vranien  Graft'en  zw  Nassau  Katzenelnbogen  Yianden 
vnd  Titz  Hern  zu  Bredan  Gubernator  in  Burgundie  Hollandt,  Selandt  vnd 
Vtricbt,  als  des  Breutigams,  vnd  freulein  Anna,  Geborne  Herzogin  czu 
Sacbsen  vnd  Churfurst  Moritz  bocbloblicber  gedecbtnus  einigen  tocbter, 
als  der  Braut.  Seint  zu  Leiptzig  vfra  Ratbaus  vffm  Obersten  Sal  in  einer 
Erker  Stuben  zwuscben  vier  vnd  funff  boren  nacb  Mittag  in  meaner  offen- 
baren  Notarien,  vnd  zu  ende  benanten  geczeugen  Kegenwart  erscbienen 
Die  obbemelten  zwee  furstlichen  personen,  Als  der  Breutigam  vnd  Brant, 
vnd  doneben  die  Durclilaucbtigsten  Hocbgebornen  Fursten  vnd  Furstin, 
Her  Augustus  Hertzog  czu  Sacbsen,  des  beiligen  Ro.  Reichs  Ertz  Marsch- 
alh  vnd  Churfurst  Landtgraff  jn  Duringen  Marggraff  czu  Meissen  vnd 
Burggraff  czu  Magdeburgk  sampt  Franen  Annen  gebornen  aus  konig- 
lichem  Stam  czu  Denmarken  Hertzogin  vnd  Cburfurstin  zcu  Sacbsen 
vnd  Vnnd  hat  aldo  Hochgedachter  Churfurst,  Hocligedachtem  printzen 
als  dem  Breutigam  diese  muentlicho  anzceigung  thun  lassen.  Sein  Fiir-:- 
liche  gnad  wurden  sicb  frenntlich  wis9en  zu  erjnnern,  Das  in  vorlanffener 
Heuradtsbandlung  zwuscben  S.  F.  gl.  hochermett  Fraulein  als  derselbigen 
kunftigen  ehegemahl  bey  dem  reinen  lantern  wort  Gottes,  anch  dem  branch 
der  hochwirdigen  Sacrament  Jnhalts der  heiligen  Apostolischen  schriffl  vnd 
jn  Bnnderheit  wie  solche  Christlicbe  lebrin  der  Angspnrgischen  Con 
vorfasset,  fdorinne  audi  jre  f.  g.  ertzogen,  vnd  durch  vorleihnng  des  Al- 


578  NOTARIAL  INSTRUMENT   CONCERNING  THE 

mechtigen  bestendiglich  zuvorharren  gedenkt]  jder  zceit  vnvorkindert  sol- 
len  bleiben  lassen,  vnd  von  solcher  jrer  Cristhchen  Relligion  der  Augspur- 
gischen  Confession,  weder  mit  gewalt  bedrauuDg  noch  beredung  abfurea 
oder  wendig  macben,  Jrer  F.  G.  aucb  vorstatten  vnd  freuntlicb  nachlasse 
das  sie  zu  jrer  selbst  notdurfft  vnd  gelegenheit,  die  Biicber  dorinne  solcbe 
Christliche  Eelligion  der  Augspurgiscben  Confession  vorfasset  vngescbeucbt 
lesen  zung  vnsers  Seligmacbers  des  Hern  Cristi  gebraucben  wollen,  das  s. 
f.  g.  so  ofFte  solcbs  jm  jare  begert  wiirde,  jre  F.  G  an  die  ortte  brengen 
wollen  lassen  do  sie  das  Sacrament  des  leibs  vnd  bluts  vnsers  Hern  Cristi 
nacb  desselben  einsetzung,  vnd  also  vnder  beider  gestallt  sicher  vnnd  one 
gefabr  gebraucben  vnd  entpfaben  konne.  Vnnd  do  jre  F.  G.  mit  leibs 
scbwacbeit  befiele,  oder  kindesnoten  were,  das  s.  f.,  g.  vff  denselben  fall, 
einen  Evangeliscben  predicanten  zu  jren  F.  G.  wollen  forden  lassen,  der 
jre  F.  G.  mit  Gotes  wort  trostet  vnd  das  heilig  Sacrament,  wie  obgemelt, 
jn  jrern  zimer  reicbe,  Aucb  die  kinder  so  s.  f.  gl.,  mit  bocbermeltem  Frau- 
lein,  zceugen  wurden,  jn  solcber  Labr  der  Augspurgiscben  Confession 
treulicb  sollen  vnderwiesen  werdenn  Alles  ferners  Jnnbalts  einer  Nottel 
So.  s.  c.  f.  gl.  vnder  dem  Dato  Dresden  den  virtzebenden  Aprilis  dieses 
laufendenn  ein  vnnd  secbtzigsten  jares  dem  Herren  printzen  zugescbickt. 
Weil  aber  s.  f.  g.,  aus  etzlichen  vorgewantenn  vrsacbenn  bedenken  gehapts 
Solcbs  in  Scbrifften  vorfassen  zcu  lassen,  unnd  es  entlicb  dobin  vorglicben, 
das  s.  f.  g.  solcbs  Alles  also  festiglicb  zu  balden  Hocbgedacbtem  Cburfursten 
czu  Sachsen  vnd  als  des  Fraiileins  nechst  bluts  vorwantem  Vettern  vnnd 
Vater  vor  der  vortrewuung  vnd  beysetzung,  jn  kegenweartikeit  des  Fraii- 
leins vnd  anderer  beiderseits  jrer  Cbur  vnnd  Furstlicben  gnaden  Redten 
vnd  dienere  zcusagen  solten.  Deme  allem  nacb,  vnd  weil  es  durch  gnedige 
Scbikunge  des  Almecbtigen  so  weit  kbommen,  das  bocbgemelt  Fraiilein 
jtzunt  bocbgedacbtem  Printzen  offentlicb  Ebelicb  vortrauet  vnd  beygesetzt 
sol  werden  als  stellet  Hocbgedacbter  Cburfurst  in  keinen  zweiffel  S.  F.  G. 
werden  solcbe  zeusage  [nemlicb  das  sie  das  Fraulein  von  der  waren  Chris- 
tlicben  Relligion,  wie  dieselbige  in  der  Augspurgiscben  Confession  vorfas- 
set vnd  dorinne  jre  F.  G.  erzcogen  vnd  vnderwiesen  wiirden,  wider  mit 
bedrauung  noch  berhedung,  abhalten,  sundern  bey  derselbenn  vnvorhindert 
bleiben,  auch  die  biicber  dorinnen  solche  Cristliche  Relligiou  vorfasset, 
vngescheucht  zcu  lesen  vorstatten  desgleichen  so  offte  es  jre  F.  G.  begern 
an  die  orte  bringen  wollen  lassen  do  sie  das  hochwirdige  Sacrament,  nach 
der  einsetzung  des  Seligmacbers  vnsers  Hern  Jesu  Cbristi,  entpfaben  moge, 
vnd  do  sie  mit  leibs  scbwacbeit  befiele  J.  F.  G.  einen  Evangeliscben  pre- 
dicanten vorscbaffen  wollen,  der  sie  mit  gotes  wort,  vnd  reicbung  des 
Sacraments,  nacb  des  Hern  Cristi  einsetzung  troste,  Das  aucb  s.  f.  g.  die 
kindere,  so  sie  nacb  dem  willen  des  almecbtigen  mit  dem  Freulein  erzeugen 
werden  jn  solcher  Cbristlichen  Relligion  der  Augspurgiscben  Confession 
treulicb  wollen  vnderweisen  lassen.]  jtzundt  allbier  jn  beisein  des  freuleins 


MARRIAGE  OF  ORANGE  WITH  ANNE  OF  SAXONY.    579 

vnd  der  Churfurstin  Hoffmeisterin  Frauen  SofSen  von  Miltitz  witwen,  auch 
beiderseits  Redte,  als  nemlich  auf  des  Cburfursten  teil  Hans  von  Ponika  vff 
Pomsen,  Her  Virion  Mordeisen  vff  Woltersdorff  der  Rechtenn  Doctor  vnd 
Ordinarius  zu  Leiptzigk,  und  vff  des  Hern  Printzen  seite  der  Wolgeborne 
Her  Johann  Graff  zu  Nassaw  vnd  Hcinrich  von  Wiltperg  Hoffmeister,  sein 
churfurstlichen  Gnaden,  mit  liand  vnd  munde  zcu  tbun  vnbescbwert  sein 
vnnd  demselbigen  aucb  fiirstlicb  vnd  treulicb  nacbsetzen.  Solchs  gereicbt 
zu  forderst  dqm  Almecbtigen  Got  zu  Ehren,  vnnd  S.  F.  G.  tbun  duran  der- 
selbten  vortranteni  bocbgedacbtem  Freulein  Anna,  ein  freuntlicb  angen- 
hemes  gefallen.  Vnd  Sein  Churf  Ge.  vveren  es  binwider  umb  S.  F.  G. 
freuntlicb  zubescbuldenn  gantz  geneigt  vnnd  willigk.  Vff  solcb  bescbeben 
muntlicb  vorbalten  bat  bocbgedacter  Printz  sicb  mit  diesen  worten  vnd 
antwort  vornebraen  lassen  vnd  selbst  raiintlicb  also  geredt  Gnediger  Cbur- 
fiirst  Icb  kann  micb  des  scbreibens  das  mir  e.  g.  diesersacben  balben  vnder 
obebemeltem  dato  getan  freuntlich  vnd  wol  erjnnern,  das  alle  die  punct  so 
der  ber  doctor  itzunt  erzelt  dorinne  begriffen,  vnd  thu  eur.  g.  birmit  zcu 
sagenn  das  icb  solchs  alles  furstlich  wil  balden  vnd  dem  nacb  kbommen, 
vnd  bat  solchs  hirauf  S.  Ch.  G.  mit  hant  gebenden  treuen  bewilligt  vnd 
zugesagt. 

Hirauff  s.  ch.  g.  mich  Wolffen  Seideln  alsbalde 
Amptswegen  requiriren  lassen,  vnd  gnedig  geson- 
nen,  das  ich  biriiber  eins  oder  mebr  offene  Jnstru- 
menta  vorfertigen  solle,  birumb  icb  dan  die  edlen 
ernuesten  vnd  hochgelartl  Hansen  von  ponika  vff 
pomsen  vnd  bern  Vlricben  Mordeissen  vff  woltersdorf  der  Rechten 
doctor  vnd  Ordinarien  zu  Leiptzig,  beide  bocbermelts  Cliurfursten  ge- 
heimpte  Camerredte  zu  gezeugen  requirit  vnd  erbetten.  Gescbeben- 
sein  diese  ding  alle,  Jm  Jar  Monat  tag  stunde  vnd  stelle  wie  oben 
vormeldet.  Vnd  icb  Wolff  Seidell  von  Sanct  Annaberge  Meisniscben 
Biscbtums  Clericus  von  beiden  gewalten  offenbar  Scbreiber  erkundo 
das  icb  bey  solcbem  vortragen  vnd  dorauf  ervolgter  antwort  vnd 
beschener  zusage,  zwuscbenn  obgemelten  cbur  vnd  furstlicben  per- 
sonen  selbst  personlicb  gewest  vnd  solcbs  also  gesehen  vnd  angebort 
hirumb  icb  dan  dis  offen  Jnstrument  zum  Zeugnus  dor  warbeit  vor- 
fertiget  vnnd  mit  meiner  eigenen  bant  gescbriben,  Aucb  mit  vnder- 
scbreibung  meines  namens  vnd  zunbamens,  vnd  meines  gewonlicben 
2STotariatzeicbens  auctorisirt  vnd  becreftiget.  Zcu  dem  allem  icb  in 
Sunderbeit  requirirt  wurden. 

This  instrument — duly  stamped  and  authenticated — is  engrossed  upon  a 
large  sheet  of  parchment,  nearly  three  feet  square. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


-  -    3  1979 


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SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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